Salman Khan’s Biggest Box Office Bomb: Earned Just ₹2 Cr, Director Quit Filmmaking, Actress Left Bollywood

Salman Khan’s Biggest Box Office Bomb: Salman Khan has reigned as the number one Iranian box office attraction among Indian actors for the last 30 years. From making his grand entry on the Indian film screens with Maine Pyaar Kiya, an actor with a reputation for giving some of the biggest blockbusters to Hindi cinema has had just a few duds in his career, the worst of which is associated, strangely, with Hollywood. But it is still considered one of the most horrific box office disappointments.

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In 2007, Salman Khan was going through ups and downs in his career. He had already lost the sheen that 90s had once accorded him when he was part of the big three names-the other two being Shah Rukh and Aamir Khan. His return was yet two years away in Wanted. At this stage, the star was still one of the most important in the business and made an attempt at an international film entitled Marigold. By Willard Carroll, the film featured Ali Larter as an American actress who comes to India and falls in love with a local, which is enacted by Salman. A typical Bollywood musical made in both Hindi and English, the film was released on August 17, 2007. Made on a budget of ₹19 crore, Marigold fell flat at the box office. It earned just ₹21 lakh on its opening day and crawled to ₹1.27 crore at the Indian box office. Overseas, the film made only $250K, taking its worldwide gross to just above ₹2 crore.

Marigold opened to bad reviews, with most critics saying it was awkward and badly made. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has a mere approval of 30% from 27 reviews. The website's consensus reads: "Marigold attempts the difficult trick of combining Bollywood movies and American rom-coms -- and ends up with an awkward blend that will satisfy fans of neither." The film felt too sanitized to Indian viewers and too desi to the Westerners, not landing the sweet spot for either. In addition, its India business suffered because of Chak De India-this film had released just a week before and was still going strong at the box office. On the other hand, The Transformers rolled it over internationally.

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Willard Carroll was already an established American filmmaker who had made movies such as The Runestone, Playing by Heart, and Tom's Midnight Garden, and then came to India, but Marigold proved to be his last film as director. He also withdrew from writing and producing films. Ali Larter, the heroine of the film, was perhaps best known for her supporting roles in Legally Blonde, Final Destination, and the television show Heroes. This proved her first and perhaps only Hindi film. That same year she had her Hollywood breakthrough with Resident Evil: Extinction. She subsequently appeared in two sequels to the original but has found little success outside the franchise.

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