Imagine a film featuring two legit Bollywood stars, having a budget of Rs 45 crore, and getting a year to shoot. And yet, it is never finished, but still released nonetheless. But it ended up selling a mere 300 tickets, ending up as one of the biggest box office bombs in the history of cinema. This is the story of the most ill-fated Bollywood film of recent times.
The Rs 45-crore film that sold only 293 tickets
Ajay Bahl’s crime thriller The Lady Killer starred Arjun Kapoor and Bhumi Pednekar in the lead roles. Made on a budget of Rs 45 crore, the film saw several delays in production all through 2023. Eventually, it was released – in a rather hasty manner – in November. However, the film’s release was a token one as it got screened in only about a dozen theatres across India. As a result, The Lady Killer sold just 293 tickets on its opening day, earning Rs 38,000, one of the lowest openings for any film ever. In its rather short lifetime, The Lady Killer earned under Rs 1 lakh at the box office.
Why The Lady Killer was released so hastily
The makers of The Lady Killer had a contractual obligation for its OTT release. As per media reports, the deadline for the film’s OTT release (for which the digital rights had already been sold) was December-end. And the contract stipulated that the film had to be released in theatres six weeks before that, which meant that had to hit the screens in early November. However, by October, the film was not even fully shot. Yet, the makers felt there was more value in releasing an incomplete film than not getting an OTT release. Hence, they opted for a limited theatrical release. However, given that film was incomplete, there were no promotions with neither Arjun nor Bhumi talking about it.
The Lady Killer’s OTT release drama
Funnily enough, the reason the film was released incomplete in theatres – the digital release – never materialised. The bad press the film got in its theatrical run meant that streaming platforms were hesitant to on board it. As a result, The Lady Killer is not on any OTT platform today. Finally, ten months after the theatrical release, the makers decided to release the film digitally themselves. On Tuesday, The Lady Killer was released in its entirety on YouTube for free. However, the film has not managed to cross even half a million views in its first full day on the platform.
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