Ram Pothineni’s "Double iSmart," featuring Sanjay Dutt in a significant role, has turned out to be a major flop at the Indian box office, failing to earn even half of its predecessor’s total collection. Despite Dutt's casting, the Hindi-dubbed version's earnings were minimal.
Directed by Puri Jagannadh, this Telugu action film released on Independence Day (August 15) as a sequel to the commercially successful "iSmart Shankar" (2019). Given the first film's popularity, the sequel was expected to be a hit but failed to impress critics and audiences.
To make "Double iSmart" a bigger pan-India release, Sanjay Dutt was brought on board to attract Hindi-speaking audiences. However, the film struggled to make an impact, especially with "Stree 2" dominating the market.
Reportedly, Dutt was paid 15 crores for his role, but the Hindi version's earnings were dismal in comparison.
According to Bollywood trade analyst, the Hindi version of "Double iSmart" started with just 0.45 crore on its opening day and only managed to earn 0.90 crore during its 4-day extended opening weekend.
By the end of its 8-day extended first week, the film collected a mere 1.08 crores at the Indian box office, which is just 7.20% of Sanjay Dutt’s salary.
In its second week, "Double iSmart" is almost out of theaters, marking it as one of the biggest box office failures from the South.
