Just five films old and Tiger Shroff has already entered the ₹100-crore club with his latest Baaghi 2. One of the few contemporary actors to steer clear of experimentation, Shroff has firmly crafted himself into an action star. In its fourth week, the sequel to the 2016 film of the same name – made on a reported budget of about ₹50 to 60 crore and distributed to 3,500 screens – has snagged an impressive ₹156.58 crore net. Of particular note is that week three’s earnings trump week two with ₹10.50 crore net and ₹32.74 crore respectively. Baaghi 2 ’s fourth weekend so far has accumulated ₹2.50 crore net, continuing to bring in close to ₹1 crore net per day. It’s a rare feat for a film to continue performing steadily a month after its release, especially in the absence of a star cast or big budgets. “Tiger Shroff is able to position himself as an action hero and not just another young star who does everything,” says Shailesh Kapoor of Ormax Media, a firm specialising in trade insights. “There’s clarity of what to expect when you go watch him and action works in both small towns and multiplexes.” Baaghi 2 has performed well in both multiplexes and single screens, but it’s the film’s performance in the latter kind of cinemas that’s surprising.
Usually, a mass commercial film gets anywhere between 20 to 30% of its total revenue from non-urban markets. In Baaghi 2 ’s case, that has increased to 40 to 50% of total earnings. According to Kapoor, there was this perception a few years ago that audiences had rejected [mass action] kind of films. “Salman Khan tried to bring action back with Dabangg ,” he says adding that the genre was so abused that it fled with a whimper after the release of Action Jackson that, made on a budget of ₹93 crore only managed ₹57.44 crore net. “Action is always a tricky genre that needs a refresher, and you need younger stars doing it. You can’t have 50-year-olds fighting on screen,” says Kapoor. “Right now only Tiger [Shroff] and Vidyut Jammwal are dominating the action space.” But it’s the former who’s really making a mark.
If Shroff is happy with his action status, another young star with twice as many films as the Baaghi star has three 100-crore films. Varun Dhawan started his career with Student of the Year ( SOTY ) – incidentally, Shroff will star in the teeny bopper’s upcoming sequel – and has delivered massive hits with ABCD2 (₹103.58 crore net), Badrinath Ki Dulhania (₹114.11 crore net) and Judwaa 2 (₹132.39 crore net). “He’s not had a flop and there’s more work [compared to Shroff] across genres,” says Kapoor talking about Dhawan’s films like Dishoom and Badlapur in addition to his biggest hits.
In what can be seen as a move to further explore his versatility, Dhawan’s latest is October . Its plagiarism allegations notwithstanding, Shoojit Sircar’s film has been critically appreciated, but that unfortunately hasn’t translated into filled seats and ticket sales. In its second week, the film (released in 1,600 screens) has managed Rs 36.10 crore net on a reported budget of ₹35 crore. Its performance has been restricted to multiplexes in Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru but the film is expected to become profitable with a digital rights sale. “A lot of young people are going to see the film, but Varun [Dhawan’s] fans are rejecting the film because [it’s not a complete entertainer],” says Kapoor who adds that niche films like October cannot grow beyond a certain limit. Hindi Medium which made ₹63.06 crore net on a budget of ₹23 crore, was a happy exception. Besides, the release of Avengers: Infinity War this week, will most likely annihilate any and all films in competition.
Dhawan’s next, Sui Dhaaga with Anushka Sharma under the Yash Raj banner, is a mainstream love story, more in line with what his fans have come to expect. On the other hand, Shroff will soon be seen in SOTY2 , to be released by Dharma Productions, eschewing his tough guy action persona but focusing on his dancing abilities.
