Yash Raj Films' Alpha, starring Alia Bhatt and Sharvari, has failed to show any signs of recovery at the Indian box office. On its 17th day of release (Sunday, July 19), the film added an estimated ₹0.35 crore net, failing to capitalize on the weekend growth.
After 17 days, the film's total India net collection now stands at ₹59.89 crore, which translates to approximately ₹70.67 crore gross. The film has now become the first entry in the YRF Spy Universe to miss the ₹75 crore mark, falling short of even War 2's second-day collection of ₹57.85 crore.
Historic Underperformance
Directed by Shiv Rawail in his feature debut, Alpha was produced by Aditya Chopra under the prestigious Yash Raj Films banner. The film boasts an ensemble cast including Alia Bhatt, Sharvari, Bobby Deol as the antagonist, and Anil Kapoor as the RAW chief, with a special appearance by Hrithik Roshan as Major Kabir Dhaliwal.
However, the film's performance has been historically poor. Its 17-day total is lower than Pathaan's opening weekend collection of ₹75.50 crore. The film's week-wise breakdown shows a massive decline: first week ₹48.4 crore, second week ₹8.4 crore, with day 15 at ₹0.25 crore, day 16 at ₹0.48 crore, and day 17 at ₹0.35 crore.
Reasons Behind The Disaster
The film faced multiple challenges from the start. The mixed-to-negative reviews upon its July 3 release resulted in the franchise's lowest opening-day collection of ₹9.25 crore. Despite a slight surge over the opening weekend, the film dropped sharply on weekdays.
In comparison to other Spy Universe films, Alpha registered the weakest second-day collection. For perspective, War 2 had collected ₹57.85 crore on day 2, Pathaan earned ₹70.50 crore, and Tiger 3 brought in ₹59.25 crore. Additionally, competition from Welcome To The Jungle and later Dhamaal 4 significantly impacted its screen count.
Historically, female-led action films have struggled to attract audiences at the Indian box office, and the underperformance of recent Spy Universe films like Tiger 3 and War 2 further compounded the challenge. With a reported budget of ₹100 crore, Alpha has recovered only about 59.9% of its investment, making it the biggest disappointment of the franchise.