Sci-fi epic Kalki 2898 AD, starring Pan-India superstar Prabhas, emerged as one of the biggest hits of 2024 in the Hindi language market. Directed by Nag Ashwin, the film amassed an impressive net collection of ₹294 crores in its Hindi dubbed version, making it the second-highest-grossing film of the year.

The movie was sold to Netflix for post-theatrical streaming at a hefty price, with high expectations due to its box office success. However, the Hindi version’s performance on the streaming platform has been less than stellar. Kalki 2898 AD debuted on Netflix with a promising 4.5 million views during its opening weekend. Unfortunately, viewership declined sharply in the following weeks, dropping to 2.6 million in the second week and further plummeting to 900K views in the third week. To compare, this figure is even lower than the third-week viewership of Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, a box office flop, which garnered 1.6 million views.

Currently, after 17 days on Netflix, the Hindi version of Kalki 2898 AD has accumulated 8 million views and is likely to exit the platform’s Top 10 chart soon, keeping it under the 10 million mark. This is considered disappointing, especially for a film reportedly sold to the platform for a whopping ₹175 crores.

Despite its underperformance on OTT, Kalki 2898 AD remains a landmark film, produced by C. Aswani Dutt, Swapna Dutt, and Priyanka Dutt under the Vyjayanthi Movies banner. The movie, inspired by Hindu scriptures, is set in a post-apocalyptic world in the year 2898 AD. It is the first instalment of the planned Kalki Cinematic Universe, where a select group embarks on a mission to protect SUM-80’s unborn child, believed to be the prophesied Kalki.

The film’s OTT performance has been one of the lowest for a blockbuster since Netflix introduced its Top 10 chart, sparking conversations about audience reception for high-budget films on streaming platforms.