Content and Box Office: Does Sky Force win over Fighter?

Mumbai: When Akshay Kumar Sky Force Movie was nearing its release date, trade was convinced that it will be somewhat similar to Hrithik Roshan Fighter movie. When the promos or the assets were out, there were comparisons on social media too. Inside Box Office has tried analysing the winner in terms of content and in terms of box-office.

Budget: First things first, Fighter is a bigger film and is far more expensive. While Fighter was mounted on a budget of Rs 250 crore approx, Sky Force is far lesser. Inside Box Office is yet to receive any information on Sky Force 2025 Movie budget but it is expected to be somewhere between Rs 125 crore to Rs 150 crore. Here, based on all calculations as per trade norms Fighter closed as a ‘Semi-Hit’ at the Box Office. Sky Force did respectable business over its opening weekend but the business appears to be bigger due to the extremely poor performance of previous Akshay Kumar Movies at the box office. Also, the organic or uninfluenced numbers are lesser. Solely because there were offers, block bookings and other means involved too. Trade does not encourage such activities but this helps in perception building. When the normal audience browses any ticketing platform, the sold-out seats denote success and how the film is a rage but in reality, the story is different.

Pre-release Buzz: While we compare Sky Force 2025 to Fighter 2024, one must admit that Siddharth Anand Fighter Movie carried a huge buzz. This is due to many factors:

1. Director-Actor Combo: This combination hype generates a lot of buzz for the cinema goers. Siddharth Anand was coming after Shah Rukh Khan Movie Pathaan that was a huge grosser. Also, Hrithik and Anand have made some films like War, Bang Bang before and hence Fighter looked like the same stylish entertainer through its songs and assets. Sky Force did not have a big director name which is very important for today’s times. An SS Rajamouli, Prashanth Neel or Sandeep Reddy Vanga branding alone can drive big numbers with smaller names in lead roles. Sky Force had Akshay Kumar as the only selling point.

2. Star-power: Star-power is easily measured by box office prominence and Hrithik Roshan is currently ahead. Akshay Kumar face value is big and he too enjoys a huge fan following but that does not show up in the box office numbers. Also, the under-performance of his previous films has dented his image. Hrithik does fewer films while Akshay Kumar does far more films and hence whoever does lesser films and is not involved in making reels generates more curiosity and hence Fighter generated more curiosity and buzz.

3. Songs and Assets: Fighter had popular songs and it also had Deepika Padukone who had a good chemistry with the lead actor. Hrithik Roshan is known for his magical dance and hence the songs were popular. Sky Force has good music too but the songs did not become very popular. Fighter and Sky Force both were for the bigger cities but Fighter had a small edge and that is the main villain presence. In Sky Force, there is no central villain. Smaller cities want the hero vs villain hand-to-hand fight sequences and Fighter had this in the film and in the teaser as well. Sky Force does not have singular villain. However, even then, the assets for Sky Force were poor and the VFX in the assets looked childish. An aerial action film initially looks exciting only if the VFX is stunning, everything else is a bonus. Also, the main asset, the Sky Force Trailer came across as a major disappointment.

Content: In terms of content, there is genuine appreciation for Sky Force. Fighter was also well-received but the main plot of the story of Sky Force has been appreciated even more. Fighter and Sky Force have too many similarities but Fighter had more commercial elements in the film and in the assets. Sky Force could have been better but the film was more logical and more authentic. Hence, both are almost similar but Sky Force has an edge. Also Sky Force could have been better if the VFX was sharper and if the second lead had a small childhood track and also the urge to see his child was more focused. Then the audience would’ve felt the pain and the agony even more. Also the most affected person in the film should be Sara Ali Khan but due to not so convincing acting, audience does not get extreme emotions. Akshay Kumar comes across as the most affected person in the film which should not have been the case. The second lead’s early days and some more depth in storytelling would’ve made Sky Force a much better film. Nevertheless, the film is fine and is very good.

Weekend Box Office Performance

Hindi Nett

Fighter had a 4 day weekend while Sky Force has a 3 day weekend. The First Monday for Sky Force is decent while for Fighter was alarming. But Fighter crossed Rs 200 crore Hindi nett and Sky Force will not reach that number. Also the numbers in case of Sky Force have come through other means.

Overseas Weekend

Both the films were banned in Gulf. Fighter has put up a phenomenal total and went past $12M. Sky Force will not even touch $2M. Fighter made Rs 100 crore plus overseas and this is a big number as Gulf did not support this and even the Pakistani audience which contributes to the Hindi number overseas.

Winner: Content may be debatable, but Fighter wins the box office battle. However, verdict wise, Sky Force might have an edge as film is not as expensive as Fighter. We will update the final verdict on the Review and the Box Office pages of Sky Force. Stay Tuned to Inside Box Office for more such analysis.

DISCLAIMER: The box office figures are compiled from various sources and our own research. The figures can be approximate and Inside Box Office (this website) does not make any claims about the authenticity of the data. However, they are adequately indicative of the box-office performance of the film(s).