After actors Aamir Khan and Amitabh Bachchan’s Thugs of Hindostan failed to make a profit at the box office, the exhibitors have decided to demand a refund from the makers. According to a report in Mid-Day, theatre owners are now asking for compensation.

Thugs of Hindostan, a production of the Yash Raj Films, was made on an estimated budget of Rs 300 crore. It was supposed to be the big Diwali release of the year but bombed after critics thrashed it in their reviews. It barely managed to collect Rs 150 crore in the 11 days of its release.

Theatre owners are reportedly looking at losing 50% of their investments in the movie and have therefore decided to seek a refund from the film’s studios. “As is the practice with YRF, the studio had taken on the distribution responsibilities. The exhibitors agreed to the minimum-guarantee deal as they expected handsome profits from the big-budget film, but the tables have turned. So, we are planning to approach the sub-distributors [YRF] to get a refund. We hope YRF, Aamir Khan and Amitabh Bachchan will help us in this situation, else there is a possibility of a few theatres having to even shut down,” an anonymous exhibitor told Mid-Day.

Previously, actors Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Rajinikanth have compensated distributors after their films failed to do well at the box office. Shah Rukh gave refunds after Jab Harry Met Sejal and Dilwale, Salman for Tubelight and Rajinikanth for Lingaa.

The film made Rs 52.25 crore through advance bookings and early shows on the first day and shattered many box office records. It is the biggest Bollywood opener of all time and the first film to cross the Rs 50 crore mark. The numbers took a deep dive on the second day after it received bad reactions from critics and viewers. The film still managed to make Rs 100 crore in its opening weekend.

Thugs of Hindostan is based on Philip Meadows Taylor’s 1839 novel ‘Confessions of a Thug’ and is about a gang who posed a serious challenge to the British Empire in India during the early 19th century.

The film, which also features Fatima Sana Shaikh, Jackie Shroff and Katrina Kaif released on November 8.

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