Salman Khan's 'worst film' Sikandar proves his bigger stardom than Shah Rukh Khan! Here's how

Bollywood superstar Salman Khan teamed up with South ace director AR Murugadoss and Rasmika Mandanna for the first time for the action drama Sikandar. Fans had pinned high hopes on the flick and with the Eid release, expectations were high. However, despite opening strongly with Rs 30 crore, the collections declined rapidly and now it continues to struggle at the box office.

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Social media got flooded with mixed responses for the film, with many stating Sikandar as Salman's 'worst film'. Meanwhile, several others opined that Salman Khan's stardom has faded and his career has "ended" considering his disappointing box office performance. However, Salman Khan's 'worst film' Sikandar proves that his stardom is bigger than Shah Rukh Khan.

Salman's Stardom Bigger Than SRK!

Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan share a good bond of friendship despite being contemporaries. Both the actors have a long and successful career, with numerous iconic films and blockbusters to their names. Both have also shared screen space in multiple movies. Though not direct box office clashes, fans pick up war over the box office collections of the movies of both actors.

SRK's Comeback After 4 Years

Notably, Shah Rukh Khan took a hiatus of four years after his highly ambitious Zero (2018) bombed at the box office. With Pathaan and Jawan, SRK made a blockbuster comeback in 2023. He also had Dunki the same year, three months after back-to-back he gave Rs 1000-crore hits. Moreover, his first-time collaboration with hitmaker Rajkumar Hirani had created significant buzz. Despite that, the movie didn't meet the expectations.

Salman Sustains His Dominance Despite Flops!

However, this was not in the case of Salman Khan. Salman had no big hit for eight years before Sikandar. AR Murugadoss made a comeback to the Hindi film industry with Sikandar after 17 years since Ghajini's success. However, his comeback was seen as fresh. Though Salman teamed up with Murugadoss and Rashmika for the first time, the discussion was around the huge age gap between the lead actors and Salman's supposed weight gain. While the film's publicity was subdued, social media was flooded with mostly negative reviews. However, despite that Salman Khan's Sikandar opened with Rs 30 crore while Dunki opened with Rs 29 crore. 

The negative word-of-mouth certainly affected Sikandar and no support from the industry and colleagues made it worse. However, despite that, Sikandar has earned over Rs 100 crore in India and Rs 200 crore worldwide. And, this achievement is just within a week which many stars can only wish for.

Not just Sikandar, Salman's Race 3 opening day collection of Rs 29.17 crore made it the biggest opener of the year. Though the movie received negative reviews from the audience and critics, it was a box office success by minting over Rs 217 (gross) crore in India and Rs 300 crore worldwide, according to Sacnilk. Before his back-to-back blockbusters, Shah Rukh struggled to reach Rs 200 crore but Salman managed to achieve the figure easily despite being in his lowest phase. 

Well, there are several more instances that prove Bhaijaan's loyal fanbase will turn up for him, no matter the film's standard. Fans buy tickets and land in theatres in big numbers to ensure Bhaijaan's movies have a good start. All thanks to his devoted fans. Despite the negativity, and not getting their dues, fans unconditionally extended support to their matinee idol. All these absolutely prove that his stardom continues even after his movies fail to meet the expectations of moviegoers.

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Hopefully, Salman Khan will consider his fans' request to make more films like Bajrangi Bhaijaan.