Explained: Why Kartik Aaryan and Kriti Sanon's Shehzada couldn't fetch big numbers at the box-office on day one!

Kartik Aaryan and Kriti Sanon came together again for Shehzada after their successful outing Luka Chuppi in 2019. This was a far more commercial film with all the trappings audiences have been craving for post the pandemic. However, the opening day numbers are far from overwhelming. Where Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 opened at Rs 14.11 crore on day one, Shehzada has raked in less than half of it- Rs 6 crore.The coming weekend should prove to be fruitful for the film but how far can it actually go. And why did the film open to such unimpressive numbers? Here are the possible reasons:The clash with Ant-Man and the Wasp and continuous change in the releaseShehzada was earlier slated to release on November 4, 2022, along with Phone Bhoot, Double XL, and Milli. It could’ve given all these films a run for their money. The makers then announced February 10 as the fresh date, but the wave of Shah Rukh Khan’s Pathaan led to the change in the date again. The team, as a mark of respect, announced February 17 as the final date of release. That was also the day booked by the Hollywood biggie Ant Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Despite mixed reviews, it has opened to almost double the numbers of Shehzada.The Pathaan waveThe wave of Pathaan seems to be still very strong. And the cherry on the cake for Shah Rukh Khan fans was the marketing strategy by Yash Raj Films. They slashed the price of the tickets by half that led to packed shows all across when in its fourth week.The remake horrorBack in 2022, remakes like Jersey, Hit: The First Case, Vikram Vedha came out and bombed. Barring Drishyam 2, no remake did well commercially. The curse seems to continue in 2023 as well. Allu Arjun’s Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo released in Hindi just a few days before the release of Shehzada on television and was also available on YouTube before being taken down by the makers to make space for the remake. Alas, too little, too late.