Akshay Kumar on potentially earning ₹2000 crore with upcoming movies: ‘Nothing is bankable’

Akshay Kumar, fresh off the success of Sooryavanshi, is one of the busiest stars in Bollywood with at least eight films and one web series in the pipeline. His projects in the upcoming year are expected to earn around ₹2000 crore collectively, from the sale of theatrical, streaming and satellite rights.

On being asked about his take on the projected figure, Akshay said that the Covid-19 pandemic taught him that ‘nothing is bankable’.

In an interview with Variety, Akshay was informed about trade estimates pegging the earnings of his projects in 2022 at around ₹2000 crore. “Wow, you worked out the maths quicker than I did! I’m very proud of this kind of projection and I think it’s testament to the fact that genres, stories and characters are always king,” he said.

“Whilst I’m excited for what should be an incredible 2022, I think if these past two years have taught us anything it’s that nothing is bankable. Let’s see how the cookie crumbles and maybe we can have this same discussion about box office figures this time next year?” he added.

Akshay delivered the biggest blockbuster of the year with Sooryavanshi, which earned around ₹200 crore in India, despite theatres not operating at full capacity in some states including Maharashtra.

Currently, Akshay is gearing up for the release of Aanand L Rai’s Atrangi Re, co-starring Sara Ali Khan and Dhanush. The film is scheduled for a direct-to-digital release on Disney+ Hotstar on December 24.

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Apart from this, Akshay has the historical epic Prithviraj, which will mark the Bollywood debut of Miss World 2017 Manushi Chhillar, lined up for release on January 21, 2022. His film Bachchan Pandey, in which he stars alongside Jacqueline Fernandez and Kriti Sanon, will hit the theatres on March 4, 2022.

The other films in Akshay’s pipeline include Raksha Bandhan, Ram Setu, Mission Cinderella, Gorkha and OMG 2. He will also star in an Amazon Prime series titled The End.