Salman Khan's much-awaited movie, Sikandar, by director A. R. Murugadoss, has opened at the box office with a modest haul of Rs 26 crore on the opening day. Even though it is one of the most hyped movies of the year, Sikandar could not beat the opening day total of Vicky Kaushal's Chhaava, which made Rs 31 crore. The film's box office run was marred by an online leak, with HD copies spreading across torrent sites and social networking sites even before it hit the theaters.
The leak, which traversed over 600 websites, was a huge blow to the production house. Nevertheless, due to the Mumbai Police's cyber cell and the operations of Salman Khan's fans, over 3,000 pirated links were taken down. In spite of all these, Sikandar is optimistic about a good run over the Eid holiday week.
Sikandar is a family entertainer with a reported production budget of Rs 200 crore, with a starry cast comprising Rashmika Mandanna, Sathyaraj, Kajal Aggarwal, and Sharman Joshi. Success for the movie is important to its producers, as it has had a heavy price tag for its production and is facing stiff competition at the box office.
Source: India Times, Times of India