Two films, two very different bets, and one big question hanging over Alia Bhatt’s career. ‘Jigra’ came with high hopes and left with a box office disaster despite its hefty budget. Now ‘Alpha’ steps in with an entire franchise behind it.
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Alia Bhatt is back in theatres with another female led action film, and the comparisons to her last outing were always going to come up. ‘Jigra’ released in 2024 and struggled badly. ‘Alpha’ releases today, July 3, 2026, carrying the weight of a much bigger franchise behind it. So does it actually stand a better chance? Let’s look at the numbers.
Jigra hit theatres on October 11, 2024, directed by Vasan Bala. The film told the story of Satya, an orphan trying to save her younger brother from a foreign prison. Expectations were high going in. Alia Bhatt was stepping into a female led action role, something rarely attempted at this scale in Hindi cinema.
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The numbers tell a rough story. Jigra opened with just Rs 60 lakh on day one in India. It picked up slightly, adding another Rs 84 lakh on day two, and crossed Rs 2 crore over its first weekend. By the end of its first week, it had only managed Rs 21.95 crore domestically. That is a weak number for a film carrying a star of Bhatt’s stature.
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The film eventually crossed Rs 26.55 crore net in India after ten days, and touched close to Rs 28.58 crore by day 12. Globally, the film’s total collection stood at around Rs 50 crore gross, with international markets contributing more than $2 million.
Here is where things got really painful for the makers. Jigra was made on a budget of around Rs 90 crore. That is a significant sum for a film that could not even recover half its cost domestically within two weeks of release. Some international estimates pegged the production cost above $9 million, with the film only crossing $5.7 million worldwide after 12 days.
Director Vasan Bala publicly took responsibility for the underwhelming numbers. He acknowledged something had clearly gone wrong in connecting with audiences, even while thanking Bhatt for trusting his vision.
Jigra’s theatrical run was not just hurt by soft box office numbers. It also got caught in comparisons with another Hindi film called Savi, which released around the same time with a strikingly similar plot, both about women trying to rescue loved ones from foreign prisons. Social media accusations of copying followed, along with claims that box office numbers were being manipulated. Bala denied the copying allegations directly, explaining that his film was already in post production when Savi came out.
Alpha is a completely different scale of production. It is the seventh installment in the YRF Spy Universe, the franchise that includes Ek Tha Tiger, Pathaan, Tiger 3, and War 2. This universe has built serious box office muscle over the years.
Ek Tha Tiger opened the franchise in 2012 with Rs 198 crore net. Pathaan, released in 2023, became a genuine phenomenon, scoring Rs 543.22 crore net. Tiger 3 added another Rs 286 crore net the same year. War 2, which came in 2025, brought in Rs 244.29 crore net. Altogether, the Spy Universe has collected close to Rs 1929.67 crore net at the Indian box office across six films before Alpha’s release.
Alpha marks the first time the franchise has been led entirely by women. Alia Bhatt and Sharvari headline the film as the primary leads, with Bobby Deol as the antagonist and Anil Kapoor reprising his role from War 2. Hrithik Roshan also makes an extended cameo appearance as Kabir Dhaliwal, a character audiences already know from earlier films in the universe.
Alia Bhatt reportedly took home a fee of Rs 25 crore for the film, according to Times Now. That figure alone reflects how much weight YRF is putting behind this project compared to Jigra’s smaller scale production.
Despite the backing, Alpha has not had a smooth build up. Trade reports and early predictions suggested the film could open with just Rs 5 to 7 crore net on day one. If that prediction holds, Alpha would become the Spy Universe’s first single digit opener, a genuine setback for a franchise that has otherwise delivered consistently massive numbers.
Part of the pressure comes from comparison to Dhurandhar, a recent spy thriller that reset audience expectations for the genre with record breaking numbers. Alpha’s teaser and trailer also drew criticism online, with some viewers pointing out similarities to films like Black Widow and La Femme Nikita. Advance booking numbers reportedly stood at just over 17,000 tickets sold with one day to go, a number that would require a massive 146 percent jump just to beat Jigra’s opening figures.
There is one clear milestone in play. The Spy Universe needs just Rs 70.33 crore more from Alpha to cross the Rs 2000 crore mark cumulatively at the Indian box office. That is a realistic target even with a soft opening, provided the film holds reasonably well over subsequent weeks.
On paper, Alpha carries everything Jigra lacked. A bigger budget, franchise recognition, an ensemble cast, and a built in audience base that has shown up for six previous films in this universe. Jigra had none of that safety net, relying entirely on original storytelling and Bhatt’s individual star power.
But early trade signals suggest Alpha may also start on shaky ground, at least in terms of opening day numbers. The real difference will likely come down to word of mouth and how well the film holds through its opening weekend, something Jigra struggled with almost immediately.
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