The net domestic collections of Tiger 3 till 28 Nov 2023 stood roughly at INR 278 Crores. With Animal releasing soon, the writing is on the wall for the Salman-Katrina-Emraan starrer.
It would wrap up under INR 300 Crores.
If you are a Bollywood trade enthusiast, you probably understand what this means.
Tiger 3 won’t be able to beat the collections of its predecessor, Tiger Zinda Hai, which collected INR 339 Crores in India.
Moreover, the film will end up as the lowest-grossing film in YRF’s Spy-Universe, which has War and Pathaan as other participants.
War had earned INR 317 Crores Net in India while Pathaan smashed several records to rake in 543 Crores Net at the domestic box office.
Even though everybody associated with the movie is denying, after looking at these stats, it is clear that something went horribly wrong with Tiger 3, which was coming on the back of a franchise, in addition to the Spy-universe.
Pathaan and War were standalone movies. They didn’t have any past blood relations.
So, what are the reasons behind Tiger 3’s failure? Here is what I think.
The Release Date
Tiger 3 was the much-awaited Diwali release of 2023.
Mostly, Salman has chosen Eid as his go-to release festival. Traditionally, Diwali has been taken up by either Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar, or Ajay Devgan.
However, this year was different with SRK now coming on Christmas in the absence of Aamir Khan while Kumar is having a nightmarish run at the box office.
Devgan didn’t have a film prepared for release on Diwali. So, it was an open road to travel on for Salman and YRF.
It is probably the first ever big-budget Hindi movie to release on a Sunday. Honestly, for a while, I couldn’t believe it.
But that didn’t change reality. My apprehension was more because Diwali fell on the same day. A festival which is celebrated across India throughout the day.
It isn’t Holi or Rakshabandhan that get done in a few hours and then people have free time to watch a movie in a theater. I have never seen such a thing happen.
Nobody is eager to watch a movie on Diwali. We want to spend quality time with our families, relatives, and prepare the house for the night.
However, YRF failed to acknowledge these facts. The company solely rode on Salman Khan’s stardom. It believed the star will garner love from the masses.
The result? Tiger 3 merely earned INR 44 crores, which is something any big-budget film can achieve these days.
Take, for example, Adipurush, Pathaan, Jawan, and, Brahmastra. All of them had a bumper opening without releasing on a Sunday.
Adipurush even went on to flop badly. But the thing here is the movie earned despite poor content. Tiger 3 was riding on a franchise.
It has the backing of two previous films. Add to it Salman’s fandom. A Sunday release could’ve blown away the record books but it couldn’t because the makers ignored Diwali festivities.
They wanted to cash in on the holiday but just couldn’t.
In the first three days, Tiger 3 earned: INR 148.5 Crores.
Tiger Zinda Hai had earned in three days: INR 115 Crores.
Adjusting the same for inflation, TZH would have earned INR 156.33 Crores in 2023.
It means if Tiger 3 had been released two days before i.e., on a normal Friday, it would have beat TZH easily.
Generally, the movie would have amassed good numbers on Friday and Saturday while the collections would have dipped on Sunday due to Diwali.
The 3-day weekend would have undoubtedly ensured 150 crores (60+50+40) with the whole next week still to be utilized, including Bhai Duj and Govardhan Pooja holidays.
So, what Tiger 3 earned from Sunday to Wed (169.75), it could have multiplied the amount from Friday to Wednesday (280 Crores).
It lost two extra days in Friday and Saturday by releasing on Sunday.
Let’s take the example of previous years’ Diwali releases:
In 2022, Thank You and Ram Setu released a day after Diwali.
Sooryavanshi also released a day after Diwali in 2021.
This release day debacle might not hurt anyone at YRF as much since they would have covered the costs using rights sales; however, it did represent a mindless thought process.
In the worst-case scenario, Tiger 3 would have earned 130 Crores in the first three days. Still, it would have had two more holidays to increase its bucket.
You can consider any amount on Friday and Saturday as a bonus when compared to the current release date.
Salman Khan’s Lack of Intensity
There was a time when Salman used to act. Now, he just stays in front of the camera and tries to act. In Tiger 3, where intensity was the need of the hour, he couldn’t deliver at all.
When Aatish took his son and video-called him to inform him about the same, Salman needed to carry the emotions of a father, but all he could do was sit there with a wince.
I couldn’t see a helpless father who was both angry and powerless at the same time. He had to put himself out there and tell the audience that I could still ace emotions.
The same happens in several action scenes, where Khan had to be at his physical best but, in all honesty, I felt he was mediocre.
This blog, especially this particular section, will receive a lot of flak from his fans but I believe they need to acknowledge their superstar’s downsides.
It will only help their cause.
Also, if a film like Tiger 3 doesn’t earn as expected, it is of utmost importance to seek reasons why such a blunder must have occurred.
And Salman’s lagging performance was one of the reasons.
Poor Performances
Okay, let me accept the fact that only Salman was not at fault. On a closer examination, you will find flaws in even Katrina’s acting.
It would be wrong to assume that an action film only requires action to survive. It is simply impossible for that to happen.
You have to be wholesome. Katrina Kaif was splendid in action scenes. I think she is second only to Deepika Padukone.
However, Kat’s emotional blemishes are visible throughout the film. She is simple and straightforward. When she has to cry, she looks the same as she does when she has to scream or sound intense.
Maybe, this was a reason behind her truncated screen presence in Tiger 3. The makers may have noticed some loopholes at the post-production stage.
Furthermore, I feel Emraan’s character sketch held him back several ounces. He never got the chance to spread his wings.
This led to reduced enthusiasm in the theater for the final haul between Salman and Emraan.
When a biggie like Tiger 3 comes out, three points become critical: the opening scene, the interval cut, and the final showdown between the protagonist and the antagonist.
Had Emraan not been a classy villain as picturized, he may have had the chance to land a better punch.
Obviously, the idea was right to show him differently than the villains of Pathaan and War, but I am only concerned about the audience’s reaction because we already had a lot of things going against the movie.
Since other aspects failed, Emraan’s uninspiring presence added fuel to the fire.
Expectations
The expectations from Tiger 3 were sky-high. In terms of years, the journey has been long. Ek Tha Tiger was released in 2012 and Tiger Zinda Hai came in 2017.
So, Tiger 3 came 11 years after the first and 6 years after the second film in the franchise.
Both the previous films were loved by the moviegoing audience, especially the second part.
Moreover, SRK’s cameo and Pathaan’s inclusion in the spy-universe were also striking factors.
This gave way to humungous expectations, which eventually the movie couldn’t meet due to the reasons mentioned above.
Fierceness Missing from Tiger 3
Tiger 3, as a whole, couldn’t generate fire from the word go. Zoya’s backstory was raging and so was Salman’s entry.
But the minute the film tried to go deep, it fell flat. The intention was right: set up a story and follow a well-crafted script.
However, the idea was too good to be true.
They barraged the screen with several strings, none of which were as significant as presented initially.
At the end of the day, you have a decent story. But you miss the adrenaline rush a film like Tiger 3 was expected to offer.
Lack of Importance on Technicalities
There are some flashbacks in Tiger 3 that help connect the threads in the storyline. One of them goes back to the time of Ek Tha Tiger.
The most horrifying thing is that the movie doesn’t give any importance to technicalities. Salman’s look doesn’t change when the scene shifts to 2012/13.
He has the same type and style of beard as in 2023. His physique is the same and every aspect of his physical mien remains the same.
At least, the makers could have transformed the most natural feature i.e., his beard style. Salman didn’t hone a heavy beard in Ek Tha Tiger.
Salman-Katrina’s Failed Attempt at Romance
Just like emotions, the on-screen couple of Tiger and Zoya failed to distinguish their chemistry this time around.
The song, “Ruaan” was so videographically handicapped that watching it in the theater felt like a nightmare, Arijit Singh’s voice being the only saving grace.
Salman and Katrina didn’t sync well with the former trying to force himself into romancing the latter.
Conclusion
Well, Tiger 3’s collections might seem huge in number, but they are nowhere near Salman Khan’s standards.
And it is totally because of the plot, poor characterization, forgettable performances, and most importantly, the poor choice of release date.
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