Karan Johar weighing profitability over critical success after 'Homebound' BO failure has not gone down well with many. Karan was speaking at an event where he said that after seeing the commercial figures of 'Homebound' he might not make such kind of a movie again. KJo added that he made the deal with Adar Poonawalla of selling Dharma stakes for growth and profit.
"I made Homebound, worldwide critically acclaimed, but I can't say if I'll take such decisions in the future or not. I will feel upset, but I chose this deal (with Adar Poonawalla) for a reason – growth. Growth comes from profit, and profit comes from profitability. I will always be artistic, but it is important to be commercial as well," he said at the Game Changers podcast with Komal Nahta.
Karan's statement has upset good cinema lovers as they feel it was Dharma's 'Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari' that overtook screens from 'Homebound'. Starring Janhvi Kapoor, Ishaan Khatter and Vishal Jethwa; the film was selected as India's official entry to the Oscars 2026. However, despite global recognition, the film failed to gain footfall in Indian theatres.
Many on social media were quick to slam Karan Johar for pushing one film over the other and then blaming 'Homebound' for its BO failure. "This pisses me off so much – so many people wanted to watch it, but he barely put it on any proper screens. If the producer can't sell the country's Academy Award entry, with these fantastic reviews, it's a skill issue," a user commented.
"Honestly, a skill issue, the only way I found out about this movie was because of Twitter. The failure of critically acclaimed films is usually a result of poor marketing. And as the producer 'responsible for profits', you should know how to market your films well," one more person wrote.
"Homebound wasn't a fun for family movie but that's not why it failed. Limited screening, minimum marketing and no big star lending their support. Movies like these uplift Indian cinema," a social media user commented.
Not just social media users, even Neeraj Ghaywan seems to have given it back to the Dharma honcho indirectly. A user on social media wrote, "Oh man. I'm still shaken. The scene between Shoaib & Chandan's mother just broke me!! Take a bow @neeraj.ghaywan @somenmishra @ishaankhatter @vishaljethwa06."
The user further wrote, "Also, this is the first time I've seen people clap at the end of the movie. And yet, this important piece of work gets only 3 showings a day while the no-brainer SSKTK has almost 100! Tells you everything, doesn't it??" It didn't take Neeraj too long to re-share the post and indirectly calling out Karan Johar.
