Festive FLOPS: Bollywood star-studded films that failed at the box office during Diwali weekends

Diwali is perhaps Bollywood’s most coveted release weekend. It is synonymous with massive openings and festive cheer thereby guaranteeing blockbusters. However, not every film with an ensemble star cast manages to twinkle like the diyas of Diwali. The glittering festival of lights has often masked huge financial disasters. Despite featuring the biggest names like Salman Khan, Aamir Khan, and Akshay Kumar, several star-studded Bollywood films have tanked miserably during this prime festive slot. Let's take a look at the most shocking Bollywood Diwali flops with huge star casts as audiences are increasingly continue to choose compelling content over mere celebrity glamour.

A romantic-comedy, this film featured Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar, and Preity Zinta in lead roles. It was written and directed by Shirish Kunder. The film minted a worldwide collection of Rs. 45.8 crore with domestic net collections being Rs. 24.9 crore and gross ones being Rs. 33.68 crore. The overseas collections were Rs. 12.12 crore. The film was released on Diwali alongside Shah Rukh Khan's 'Don', which bore a wider mass appeal. Additionally, this was Kunder's directorial debut which was criticized for its "meta," theatrical, and musical approach. The narrative was way ahead of its time with its experimental format featuring heavily stylized sets, innovative VFX, and Broadway-like musical numbers. Also, the screenplay and dial shifted gears from comedy to drama, which failed to woo the audience.

This Sanjay Leela Bhansali helmed film was a highly anticipated launch vehicle for star kids, Ranbir Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor. It also featured Salman Khan in a much-awaited cameo appearance. Based on Fyodor Dostoevsky's 1848 short story titled 'White Nights', the film earned a worldwide collection of Rs. 39.13 crore. The domestic net collections were 22.31 crore while the gross were around Rs.27 crore. The overseas collection were a mere Rs.12.13 crore. The film was massively crushed by Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone starrer, 'Om Shanti Om'. Director Sanjay Leela Bhansali's overly stylized, moody, and surrealistic setting, dominated by a stark blue palette, was critiqued to be too abstract, lacking the much-needed mass appeal. Furthermore, a sluggish screenplay coupled with an ambiguous unhappy ending that failed to fit the festive bill of light-hearted, celebratory spirit.

This film was touted as an ambitious action-adventure with big underwater sequences. It starred Akshay Kumar, Sanjay Dutt, Zayed Khan, Katrina Kaif and Lara Dutta. Additionally, the film featured the song titled 'Chiggy Wiggy' that was crooned by international pop icon, Kylie Minogue and Sonu Nigam. The film earned a worldwide collection of Rs.63.9 crore with net domestic collection amounting to Rs. 38.66 crore and gross domestic collections as Rs.52.06 crore. The overseas collection was Rs. 11.84 crore. 'Blue' was reportedly the most expensive film at the time of its making, but a weak screenplay, plot and the sophisticated theme of underwater action treasure hunt failed to resonate with the audiences. Additionally, it had clashed with other Diwali and better-received film, 'All The Best'.

A time-travel comedy starring Akshay Kumar and Aishwarya Rai, this film also featured Aditya Roy Kapur and Neha Dhupia. Directed by Vipul Amrutlal Shah, the film was reportedly an uncredited remake of the 1985 cult film, 'Back to the Future.' But Shah insisted that the film was adapted from a Gujarati play by the same name in addition to being based on H. G. Wells' novel, 'The Time Machine.' According to Sacnilk, the film minted a worldwide collection of Rs.48 crore, with net domestic collections of 29.06 crore and gross domestic collections of Rs. 39.23 crore. The overseas collection were a mere Rs. 8.77 crore. The film failed to impress the audiences owing to a weak plot, poor word of mouth reviews, weak screenplay and direction. Additionally, the film was overshadowed by the other major Diwali release, the highly-anticipated and popular franchise film 'Golmaal 3.'

This film starred industry stalwarts Amitabh Bachchan and Aamir Khan as leads. The female leads were Katrina Kaif and Fatima Sana Shaikh. The film was helmed by Vijay Krishna Acharya and bankrolled by Aditya Chopra's production house, YRF. According to Sacnilk, the film minted a worldwide collection of Rs. 327.51 crore with India net collections as Rs. 151.3 crorer and India gross collections to Rs. 194 crore. Its overseas collection amounted to Rs. Despite the dream pairing and a monumental hype, poor reviews, a weak script, and inconsistent tone led to its massive box office failure. The film promised large-scale action sequences and visual effects, meant to rival Hollywood but were criticized as sub-par and underwhelming. The film also heavily depended on the star pairing of Khan and Bachchan, but failed to provide compelling narrative. It went on to prove how the audiences now see through glossy packaging.

While the festival of lights remains a prime opportunity for releases, these examples show that a strong script and good execution are often more important than star power and a festive release date.