much-anticipated film Sikandar hit theatres on Eid after his two-year-long gap. The film – which also features in a key role – has been directed by . It was successful to make headlines because of the massive pre-release buzz it created. Nonetheless, the film couldn’t really match Salman’s previous Eid blockbusters. Going by Sacnilk.com, Sikandar earned ₹26 crore on its opening day. Going by the reports, the film was leaked online on late Saturday night, before authorities took immediate action and removed all pirated version from websites.
For the unversed, ahead of the theatrical release of AR Murugadoss’ movie on March 30, its high-definition (HD) version was available on X. To combat the leak, Nadiadwala’s production house, Khan’s fan clubs and Mumbai Police’s cyber department removed over 3000 links.
Ravi Desai, who heads the Salman Khan Fan Club on X, revealed that a sign had appeared in the days ahead of the release. “On March 26, a handle had posted an unseen image from the film and claimed that they will release the film’s prints. Later, that account vanished. On Saturday at 11.30 pm, a print was released from another X handle. It was first available on HDM [a website for torrent downloads], and from there, it came to X. By 12 am, it was everywhere,” Midday quoted him as saying.
Desai reportedly worked with together SKF, Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment, FX Securities,and Cyber Wing of Mumbai Police searched X and Telegram to find the accounts. “Within hours, we received thousands of reports from fans who helped us track down many accounts. Over 3000 links have been pulled down so far,” Desai said. “We feel the leak happened at the post-production end,” he added.
Meanwhile, Sikandar has earned ₹26 crore on its opening day. With this figure, it failed to break any record at the box office. It also far behind Vicky Kaushal-starrer Chhaava which earned ₹ 31 crore on its opening day.
Salman’s past films were successful in setting the bar high. While 2016 release Sultan managed to earn ₹36.54 crore. Tiger 3, which had hit theatres in 2023, earned ₹53.3 crore.
