Shehzada and Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantamania, both of which released on February 17, opened to lower than expected numbers in their first weeks.
The Hindi film, starring Kartik Aaryan and Kriti Sanon, was a remake of Allu Arjun's blockbuster Telugu hit Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo (2020). Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantamania, starring Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly, is the third film in the franchise about the Marvel superhero, according to a report on www.hindustantimes.com.
While Shehzada earned ₹6 crore on opening day, it never really picked up after that on the weekend. The producers offered a buy one, get one free ticket scheme that also did not work. The comedy-drama also featured Paresh Rawal, Manisha Koirala, Ronit Roy and Rajpal Yadav in a special appearance.
According to the trade website Box Office India, Shehzada only earned ₹26.50 crore nett in the first week. It made ₹20 over the weekend. The family entertainer, directed by Rohit Dhawan, didn't fare well during the weekdays. Moreover, many people had already seen Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo as well as the Hindi dubbed version of the film which can be watched on YouTube for free.
Shehzada's Hollywood competition, Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantamania, has also underperformed as a Marvel film. According to Box Office India, the third film had a huge drop on Monday and earned ₹32 crore nett in its first week. While the advance ticket sales were high for the superhero film over the first day and weekend, it did not translate over to the rest of week.
Shehzada's release had also been delayed so that Pathaan could have an extended run at the box office. In an interview with RJ Siddharth Kannan, lead actor Kartik had spoken about the call to hold the film for one more week after Valentine's Day. He said, "The decision was mostly of the producers and directors. Main fan hoon Shah Rukh [Khan] sir ka waese bhi toh mujhe toh accha hi laga ki jab yeh shift karne ka decision horaha tha. (I am a fan of Shah Rukh sir so I felt good when the decision to shift was taken ). We went ahead with it."
