Salman Khan's Box Office Curse: When Romancing Younger Heroines Didn't Work For The Sikandar Star

Salman Khan is currently staring at one of the biggest commercial disasters of his career. Sikandar, released on March 30, opened to ₹26 crore on the eve of Eid, a festival synonymous with the actor's big banner films and the eventual blockbuster commercial returns they offer at the ticket window. After Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan (2023), Sikandar is Salman's other festive release that has been widely panned and may end up becoming a commercial flop.

A look at the actor's films in the past few years, one can easily notice the widening age-gap with his leading ladies. This may be one of the many factors behind their failures. Despite lingering questions over this choice, Salman has continued to work with much younger heroines. In Sikandar too, Salman is paired opposite 31-year-younger Rashmika Mandanna . Audiences have not liked their chemistry, with many calling it a "father-daughter jodi".

Also read: Salman Khan Eid Releases At Box Office (2010-2025): Sikandar Emerges As One Of The Poorest Openers, Earns Less Than Race 3

At a recent press conference, Salman casually addressed the issue of the age gap with his female co-stars, saying, "People say there is a 31-year age gap between me and the heroine. When the heroine and her father don’t have a problem, then why do you have a problem?” He further expressed his desire to continue working with younger actresses.

"If I want to work with Ananya or Janhvi, people have made it difficult for me because then they talk about the age gap. I work with younger actors, thinking it will give them a good opportunity, and I intend to continue working with younger actresses," the 59-year-old star said.

Also read: Eid Mubarak! Salman Khan Keeps His Date With Fans Despite Sikandar Failure, Greets Crowd On Eid ul-Fitr At Galaxy Apartments

Times when Salman faced trolling for age-gap with his heroines

In Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan (2023), Salman was paired with 27-year-younger Pooja Hegde. Their romantic angle faced immense criticism and was hard to digest for many. The film ended up being a commercial flop and earned ₹184.6 crore at the box office.

Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai saw Salman pair up with 27-year-younger Disha Patani . They first featured in the Bharat song Slow Motion. Their chemistry in Radhe was off by miles. Released in 2021, during the height of the pandemic, the film earned ₹18.61 crore worldwide.  

In the 2019 release Dabangg 3, Salman was paired opposite 36-year-younger Saiee Manjrekar. The film marked the actress' debut in Bollywood. She was just 17 when the movie released. Their pairing gave fans the ick, and while Dabangg franchise worked on Salman and Sonakshi's chemistry, her replacement, Saiee could not help the threequel succeed commercially or get critically good responses like the first two movies.

In Race 3, Salman replaced Saif Ali Khan as the leading face of the hit, action thriller franchise. The movie saw him being paired opposite 20-year-younger Jacqueline Fernandez. While the duo in Kick (2014) was a hit, Race 3 bombed at the box office, earning ₹185 crore. 

In race 4, reportedly, Saif will be back.