Suriya’s Retro tanked at box office because of ‘paid negative campaign’? Director Karthik Subbaraj makes SHOCKING claim

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The high-energy movie “Retro” by Suriya attracted tremendous excitement from spectators even prior to its premiere. Yet, once it debuted in cinemas, it received relatively low earnings at the box office, which was an unexpected outcome for a film helmed by Karthik Subbaraj.

Now, the filmmaker has spoken openly about his version of events, making startling revelations about potential reasons behind the movie’s underperformance.

Karthik Subbaraj tags ‘paid negative campaign’ behind Retro’s failure

In a conversation with Galatta, Karthik Subbaraj attributed the primary cause for a movie’s success or downfall to “paid hatred” and “malicious campaigns.” He offered his film, Retro, as an example and disclosed that he discovered each actor had their own hostile camp on social media.

According to what he mentioned, it seems that every actor allegedly has a group of critics on Twitter who are presumably hired to run a smear campaign against them, specifically targeting those who speak positively about their films. Moreover, it’s suggested that they operate from an office and receive payment for their work.

Karthik Subbaraj found Retro’s negative reviews ‘shocking’

Subsequently, the director reviewed the outcome of the movie titled Retro, unfortunately tarnished by an unscrupulous smear campaign. Shockingly, he discovered that despite receiving numerous unfavorable critiques, his film was actually well-received by many viewers who privately shared their appreciation for it.

He stated that everyone he talked to enjoyed the movie, but found it puzzling why it received unfavorable reviews. He also mentioned that this paid marketing strategy is highly risky and quite surprising.

Retro’s underwhelming box office collection after its theatrical run

Regarding Retro’s box office earnings, the film concluded its cinema release without reaching the Rs. 50 crore threshold in Tamil Nadu. Despite a promising start on its debut day, the movie experienced a substantial drop in viewership over the following days.

Retro’s OTT release and verdict

Following a less-than-successful cinema release, Retro became available on Netflix starting from May 30. It kickstarted its streaming journey with high anticipation, and viewers quickly shared their thoughts about it.

Regardless of its underperformance at the cinema, the romantic action thriller managed to thrive on streaming platforms. Audiences appreciated the intricately crafted first half, climactic interlude, and larger-than-life sequences, which lived up to the buzz surrounding the film.

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2025-06-18 14:37