Biggest Bollywood Flops of All Time

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Bollywood has the potential to create truly exceptional films. The Indian film industry has been incredibly successful for over 50 years, thanks to its massive audience of nearly 1.5 billion people. However, with so many movies – between 100 and 200 each year – not every film will be a hit, regardless of its budget or star power.

Ultimately, figuring out how an audience will react to a movie is more about intuition than precise prediction. Even experienced industry professionals can’t always tell if a film will be a hit or miss. Everyone involved – the large teams working for months or even years – wants to create something successful, and a lot is on the line. But if viewers don’t connect with a movie, even significant effort and large budgets can’t save it. Not every film is a good representation of Bollywood, and some major productions simply don’t perform well. Here’s a list of 20 of Bollywood’s biggest box office disappointments.

‘Tubelight’ (2017)


Yash Raj Films

Salman Khan hasn’t seen many huge box office hits recently. Following the success of Bajrangi Bhaijaan, he starred in a 2017 film with an interesting story set in pre-independence India. The movie centers around Laxman, a boy with a disability who faces challenges growing up, with his brother Bharat always there to support him. The story follows the brothers through India’s independence and beyond, as Bharat joins the army and Laxman is left to fend for himself.

Kabir Khan’s film Tubelight was inspired by the heartwarming true story told in Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s Little Boy. However, while Little Boy is highly acclaimed, Tubelight didn’t quite live up to its potential. The film started strong but quickly lost momentum and performed poorly at the box office. Despite a production budget of around $23 million, it only earned approximately $32 million worldwide.

‘Guzaarish’ (2010)


UTV Motion Pictures

Featuring two of Bollywood’s most celebrated actors, this 2010 film by Sanjay Leela Bhansali is remembered primarily for its music. Guzaarish tells the deeply moving story of Ethan, a former magician who is now paralyzed and has requested to end his life through euthanasia. His world revolves around two people: Omar, an aspiring magician eager to learn from him, and Sofia, his dedicated nurse.

Both Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan give strong performances, and the film features some visually stunning moments. However, it doesn’t quite come together as a successful movie due to a weak and disjointed story. With a budget of around $8.92 million, it only earned $7.29 million worldwide.

‘Joker’ (2012)


UTV Motion Pictures

Akshay Kumar is known for being incredibly productive, consistently appearing in at least three films every year since becoming a major star. With such a busy schedule, it’s understandable that not every project is a success. Joker is a science fiction adventure film directed by Shirish Kunder. The story follows Agastya, a scientist, and his girlfriend, Diya, as they visit Agastya’s father in the remote village of Paglapur. They discover the villagers are struggling and still live in fear of a long-ago German presence. Agastya comes up with a plan to help: he pretends an alien invasion is happening.

The movie is strange, much like its confusing storyline. It uses images of UFOs and fake aliens to support the main character’s deception. Overall, it’s a letdown and not worth watching. To make matters worse, the film only earned about $5.5 million despite costing $7 million to make.

‘Once Upon a Time in Mumbai Dobaara!’ (2013)


Balaji Motion Pictures

Bollywood hasn’t had much success with sequels, and Once Upon a Time in Mumbai Dobaara! is unfortunately no exception. The original Once Upon a Time in Mumbai from 2010 was a popular film with a large following, but the sequel doesn’t live up to the exciting gangster story fans were hoping for.

Twelve years after the original, the film follows Don Shoaib Khan, who becomes the new mafia boss after killing Sultan Mirza. He takes in a young street urchin named Aslam, but trouble brews when both men fall for the same woman. Critics found the movie’s casting and character development to be weak. Despite this, Once Upon a Time in Mumbai Dobaara! earned just over its $15.65 million production budget at the box office.

‘Zanjeer’ (2013)


Reliance Entertainment

I recently watched the remake of Zanjeer, and it’s been filmed in both Hindi and Telugu. It’s based on the original classic from 1973! Ram Charan steps into the role that Amitabh Bachchan made so famous, and it was exciting to see him gain even more recognition with this Bollywood film, as he was already well-known down South. The story centers around ACP Vijay Verma, a really honest cop battling corruption and powerful, shady politicians. His main enemy is this ruthless gangster named Teja, who’s truly awful.

The original Zanjeer is a classic Bollywood film, but the remake doesn’t live up to its reputation and actually diminishes it. The acting and how the lines are delivered aren’t very good, and the movie has too many songs, which pull viewers away from the story. Financially, the remake was a failure, earning only $3.8 million despite costing around $5.4 million to make.

‘Bombay Velvet’ (2015)


Phantom Films

Johnny, played by Ranbir Kapoor, is an ordinary guy who’s having a hard time and desperately wants to win the heart of Rosie (Anushka Sharma). He thinks the fastest way to do that is to become involved in criminal activity and appear tough and intimidating. But he quickly discovers that the criminal world is much more complicated than he expected.

Anurag Kashyap’s Bombay Velvet stars Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, Kay Kay Menon, Vicky Kaushal, and Karan Johar. Although intended as a gritty gangster film, it performed poorly in theaters. Despite costing $18 million to make, the movie only earned about $6.47 million, largely because of an uneven story and lackluster performances.

‘Shaandaar’ (2015)


Phantom Films

Shaandaar is a comedy about Jagjinder Joginder, a wedding planner working a big, fancy wedding in London. He gets caught up in the family’s drama and unexpectedly falls for the bride, Alia Arora. While the movie looks good, it’s often let down by a weak script and silly, excessive jokes, despite having a talented cast.

Alia Bhatt has consistently impressed audiences throughout her ten-year acting career. She made a strong debut with the romantic film Student of the Year and followed it up with successful movies like Highway and 2 States. While Shaandaar, her only collaboration with Shahid Kapoor, didn’t achieve the success many hoped for despite the actors’ talent, it still turned a small profit, earning $14.12 million on a $9 million budget. However, the film ultimately didn’t live up to expectations.

‘Fitoor’ (2016)


UTV Motion Pictures

The biggest strength of the 2016 film Fitoor, starring Aditya Roy Kapoor and Katrina Kaif, was its captivating and memorable soundtrack, including songs like ‘Pashmeena’ and ‘Tere Liye.’ Directed by Abhishek Kapoor, the movie tells a poignant story of a love that’s challenged by social differences. The story centers on Noor, a poor boy from Kashmir, who takes a job caring for horses at the estate of a wealthy woman. He begins to fall for her daughter, Firdaus, but when their relationship is discovered, Noor is sent away.

It’s surprising that the movie Fitoor is an adaptation of Charles Dickens’ famous novel, Great Expectations. While the source material had a lot of promise, the film suffered from uninspired dialogue and weak direction. Despite costing around $9 million to make, it only earned $3.45 million worldwide.

‘Mohenjo Daro’ (2016)


UTV Motion Pictures

Mohenjo Daro follows Sarman, a farmer who travels to the ancient city of Mohenjo Daro looking for work. He finds himself under the rule of a cruel leader with whom he shares a past. Trouble begins when Sarman falls in love with a woman who is betrothed to the leader’s son.

Period dramas usually offer a welcome escape, letting viewers imagine themselves in another time. However, this big-budget film, Mohenjo Daro, didn’t achieve that. Director Ashutosh Gowariker intended to showcase the splendor of the Indus Valley civilization with stunning visuals and elaborate sets. Despite impressive production design, his three years of research and writing didn’t connect with audiences, and the movie earned only $16.1 million at the box office, despite costing around $17.2 million to make.

‘Jagga Jasoos’ (2017)


UTV Motion Pictures

Directed and written by Anurag Basu, Jagga Jasoos is a lighthearted adventure-comedy. However, the film doesn’t quite live up to the hype created by its trailers and promotional materials. The story centers on Jagga, a teenage detective played by Ranbir Kapoor. When Jagga’s adoptive father disappears after leaving him at boarding school, Jagga embarks on a quest to find him, accompanied by a journalist friend.

While the basic idea wasn’t groundbreaking, the film had the potential to be deeply moving and insightful. Unfortunately, it ended up feeling underdeveloped and became one of Bollywood’s most significant financial failures. Jagga Jasoos earned $13.5 million at the box office, despite costing an estimated $11.6 to $20.3 million to produce.

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2026-02-23 00:35