The Indian box office remained steady over the latest weekend, led once again by Border 2, which retained the top position in its third weekend of release. While the absence of a major new Hindi opener kept the overall marketplace moderate, holdovers continued to shape the weekend narrative, with Mardaani 3 showing encouraging growth and regional titles delivering selective traction.
After a massive opening fortnight, Border 2 added approximately ₹15 crore over its third weekend, collecting ₹2.85 crore on Friday, ₹5.25 crore on Saturday, and an estimated ₹6.9 crore on Sunday. The film’s India nett total now stands at ₹309.4 crore after 17 days. While the drop from its extraordinary first week is steep, the weekend bounce indicates that the film continues to benefit from its large-scale war spectacle, patriotic appeal, and strong recall value among mass audiences. With ₹224.25 crore in Week 1 and ₹70.15 crore in Week 2, Border 2 has firmly established itself as one of the year’s biggest Hindi successes, even as daily collections begin to settle into post-event territory. The third weekend hold ensures that the film remains comfortably ahead of all competitors nationwide.
In second place, Mardaani 3 delivered a healthy second weekend, collecting approximately ₹9.35 crore across Friday to Sunday. The film earned ₹1.85 crore on Friday, jumped sharply to ₹3.5 crore on Saturday, and closed the weekend with around ₹4 crore on Sunday. This upward trajectory reflects positive word-of-mouth, particularly among urban audiences and fans of the franchise’s gritty tone. The Yash Raj Films-backed thriller now stands at ₹35.68 crore after ten days, with ₹26.3 crore coming from its first week. While the opening was modest, the second weekend growth positions Mardaani 3 as a steady performer rather than a front-loaded release, with scope to extend its run through controlled weekday drops.
Among new releases, Vadh 2 opened quietly, collecting ₹2.5 crore over its three-day opening weekend. The film started at ₹0.5 crore on Friday, doubled to ₹1 crore on Saturday, and maintained that level on Sunday. The limited opening reflects its low-key release strategy and niche positioning. As with its predecessor, Vadh 2 will rely heavily on content discovery and word-of-mouth to sustain itself beyond the opening week, rather than initial box office force.
Regional cinema found a stronger footing through With Love, which emerged as the best-performing new release of the weekend. The Tamil–Telugu bilingual collected ₹6.8 crore over its opening weekend, driven primarily by the Tamil market. The film opened with ₹1.6 crore on Friday, grew to ₹2.5 crore on Saturday, and closed at ₹2.7 crore on Sunday, showing consistent upward momentum. Tamil Nadu contributed ₹5.95 crore, while the Telugu version added ₹0.85 crore, underlining where the film’s core audience lies. The steady growth across all three days suggests positive initial reception, giving With Love a platform for a stable regional run.
Overall, the weekend reflected a familiar post-event box office phase. With no fresh Hindi tentpole entering the market, established titles continued to dominate screens, and audience attention remained divided between large-scale spectacles and content-driven mid-budget films. Border 2 remains the clear leader, securing the No.1 position yet again and pushing deeper into blockbuster territory, while Mardaani 3 has emerged as the weekend’s most encouraging performer in terms of trend. Regional releases, meanwhile, once again demonstrated their ability to find space and audiences even in a holdover-driven marketplace.
As the industry looks ahead, the coming weeks will determine whether these films can maintain momentum or gradually make way for the next wave of releases. For now, the Indian box office remains stable, driven less by novelty and more by sustained audience interest in familiar brands and well-positioned regional offerings.
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