Why did ‘The Lady Killer’ bomb at the box office?

Mumbai: Despite a hefty budget of Rs45 crore, Bhumi Pednekar and Arjun Kapoor-starrer ‘The Lady Killer’ failed to grab eyeballs upon its 2023 release. Touted as one of the biggest losses in the history of Indian cinema, the film managed to earn a meagre Rs60,000 during its theatrical run.

Helmed by Ajay Bahl, the film earned the dubious distinction of being India’s biggest box office bomb. The crime thriller, was produced by Bhushan Kumar, under his T-Series banner. Production began in 2022 and reports suggested that the film exceeded budget due to several re-shoots in 2023.

After its release, the film found no takers, selling just 293 tickets across India on its opening day, ending its lifetime run under a lakh.

According to reports, ‘The Lady Killer’ was released without a complete climax.  In an initial claim, Bahl admitted to it in an interview, only to reverse his statement later.

Trade insiders feel that securing an OTT release with Netflix was a concern for the makers and to lock it in, they opted to have a token release in select theatres. That was why the ‘incomplete’ film was released without any publicity.

Due to lack of promotions and marketing by its lead stars Bhumi Pednekar and Arjun Kapoor, the film did dismal business at the box office. As a result, the film generated a lot of bad press and its streaming release was cancelled, after Netflix reportedly backed out.

‘The Lady Killer’ was belatedly released for free on YouTube in September 2024. The film has 2.4 million views on YouTube in over a month, but most of the comments are negative.