Salman Khan's biggest box office bomb made just ₹2 cr, director quit filmmaking, actress never worked in Bollywood again

Salman Khan's first Hollywood crossover made only ₹2 crore at the box office despite the presence of a Hollywood star.

Salman Khan has been one of the biggest box office draws in Indian cinema for over 30 years. Since he exploded onto the scene with Maine Pyaar Kiya in 1989, the actor has given some of the biggest hits in Hindi cinema. But there have been a few duds along the way, too, and the biggest of them all had a Hollywood connection. But it was still a massive box office bomb. (

Salman Khan and Ali Larter in a still from Marigold.

Salman Khan's biggest box office bomb

In 2007, Salman Khan was in the middle of a flux in his career. The euphoria of the 90s had died down, when he had been the top star along with Shah Rukh and Aamir Khan. His revival with Wanted was still two years away. At this time, the star - still one of the biggest in the business - experimented with an international film titled Marigold. Directed by Willard Carroll, the film starred Ali Larter as an American actor who comes to India and falls in love with a local, played 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.

Why Marigold failed

Marigold opened to bad reviews, with most critics calling it awkward and badly made. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an approval rating of only 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 sanitised to Indian viewers and too desi to the Westerners, not landing in the sweet spot for either. In India, its business was affected by Chak De India, which had been released a week prior and was still going strong at the box office. While internationally, The Transformers steamrolled over it.

The impact of Marigold's failure

Willard Carroll was an established American filmmaker who had made films like The Runestone, Playing by Heart, and Tom's Midnight Garden before he came to India. But Marigold proved to be his last film as a director. He also stepped back from writing and producing films as well. The film's female lead, Ali Larter, was also a well-known face in Hollywood, having played supporting roles in Legally Blonde, Final Destination, and the TV show Heroes. Marigold proved to be her only Hindi film. The same year, she had her Hollywood breakthrough with Resident Evil: Extinction. She has since worked in two of the film's sequels but has seen little success outside the franchise.