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

Pink Villa

4 hours ago

Suriya 's action-packed film Retro managed to generate massive hype among fans before its release. However, it witnessed a flat box office response after hitting the big screens, which was quite an unusual fate for a film directed by Karthik Subbaraj.
And now, the filmmaker has opened up on his side of the story and made some shocking claims about what actually might have panned out for the film's failure.
Karthik Subbaraj tags 'paid negative campaign' behind Retro's failure
During an interview with Galatta, Karthik Subbaraj blamed 'paid hatred' and 'negative campaigns' as the deciding factor for most films' success or failure. He cited the example of his film, Retro, and revealed how he got to know that every actor has an enemy camp on social media.
In his words, 'Even I heard from somebody that every actor has an enemy camp on Twitter, they are paid to run a campaign and discredit someone who shares good things about a film. Not just that, they have an office, and they get paid for it.'
Karthik Subbaraj found Retro's negative reviews 'shocking'
Moving on, the filmmaker looked back at the result of Retro, which fell victim to a malicious negative campaign. He expressed his shock at his film getting many negative reviews, while on the contrary, people told him they liked it.
He said, 'Everyone whom I spoke to liked the film, they told me they are confused as to why the film got negative reviews. This paid campaign is very dangerous, and it is very shocking.'
Retro's underwhelming box office collection after its theatrical run
Speaking about Retro's box office collection, it ended its theatrical run after failing to hit even the Rs. 50 crore mark across Tamil Nadu. While the movie saw an initial boost on opening day, it fell significantly within the next couple of days.
Retro's OTT release and verdict
After a disappointing run in the theaters, Retro was released on Netflix for its OTT run from May 30 onwards. It began airing with a promising note, and audiences poured in their reviews shortly after.
Despite a disappointing record at the box office, the romantic action thriller was successful on OTT. Viewers felt that the first half, interval block, and massy scenes were tailored to perfection and justified the hype.