Is Salman Khan's Sikandar riding the content drought to blaze past ₹200 crore?

Salman Khan-starrer Sikandar has amassed a gross collection of ₹160.85 crore worldwide as of Saturday, according to box office data provider Sacnilk. This comes despite a modest theatre occupancy rate of just 8.93%.  

For Sikandar, Chennai led regional theatre occupancy with a footfall of 12.33%, emerging as the top-performing city. Close behind were Hyderabad and Bengaluru, both recording 11.33%, followed by Jaipur at 11% and Lucknow at 9%.  

To put this in context, Chhaava, the Vicky Kaushal-starrer historical drama, is recording a 7.61% occupancy even on its 50th day in theatres—at times outperforming Sikandar in certain time slots. Even Mohanlal’s L2: Empuraan posted a higher overall Hindi occupancy of 11.52% but has managed to collect only ₹241.65 crore so far.  

Sikandar was reportedly made on a hefty budget of ₹200 crore. Earlier in January, it had been one of the most anticipated Indian films of 2025. According to an Instagram post by the makers, Nadiadwala Grandson, the film grossed ₹178.16 crore worldwide within its first six days in theatres.  

While Sikandar may be inching toward the ₹200 crore mark, the real question is—does that even make it a hit anymore? After all, Salman Khan’s Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan and Race 3 also crossed that benchmark yet failed to leave a mark, weighed down by high budgets and poor word of mouth. It’s a pattern not unfamiliar to the Khans—Shah Rukh Khan, too, had his phase of back-to-back flops before bouncing back. In that sense, Sikandar feels more like a product of the current dry spell at the box office than a true comeback.  

With limited new film options in cinemas, is OTT stepping up—and how are theatres coping?

It’s the worst time to scroll through any movie-ticketing app. Your choices? The two-month-old Chhaava, the three-week-stale The Diplomat, Mohanlal’s action-heavy L2: Empuraan, and Salman Khan’s Sikandar. Throw in a couple of re-releases, and that’s pretty much it. It makes you wonder—does it even make sense to pick theatres over OTT anymore?  

Industry insiders say theatre owners remain frustrated with Bollywood’s continued struggle to deliver crowd-pulling content. Despite the dry spell, multiplex chains have lined up a decent programming slate—ranging from international films like Mickey 17 and Minecraft to curated re-runs—especially for this quarter.

What’s more disappointing is that even Bollywood’s OTT releases have turned sporadic, with only one high-profile film—The Test, starring R. Madhavan and Nayanthara—hitting Netflix this week. With this slowdown across the board, the industry seems to be in vacation mode, showing little urgency to drive revenue.  

Offering a glimmer of hope is Kesari Chapter 2, which appears to be a strong theatrical contender, especially as Chhaava prepares to exit cinemas and land on Netflix later this month. Featuring Akshay Kumar and R. Madhavan, the film is set to release on April 18.