The final weekend of December closed with a clear winner at the Indian box office as Dhurandhar continued its extraordinary run, topping the charts for the fourth consecutive weekend. While Christmas week brought a set of new releases across Hindi, Kannada and Malayalam markets, none came close to challenging the might of the Ranveer Singh–Akshaye Khanna action spectacle, which once again emerged as the first choice for theatrical audiences nationwide. Holiday footfalls remained healthy, regional films found selective traction, and Hollywood’s Avatar: Fire and Ash maintained steady momentum in its second week despite direct competition from domestic heavyweights.
Dhurandhar, directed by Aditya Dhar and starring Ranveer Singh, Sanjay Dutt, Akshaye Khanna and R. Madhavan, posted a strong ₹58 crore weekend in its fourth week, collecting around ₹15 crore on Friday, ₹20.5 crore on Saturday, and ₹22.5 crore on Sunday. These numbers take the film’s India nett to ₹691.43 crore, maintaining an impressive hold deep into its run. Earlier weeks reflect its aggressive capacity — Week 1 delivered ₹207.25 crore, Week 2 climbed higher with ₹253.25 crore, while Week 3 stood at ₹172 crore, confirming minimal long-term attrition. The film has also crossed ₹1,000 crore globally, surpassing Kalki 2898 AD to become the highest-grossing Indian film of 2025, and is now on course to soon overtake Pushpa 2 to become the biggest Hindi-language earner in terms of domestic nett. With weekday numbers continuing above normal drop range and multiplex occupancy holding solid, Dhurandhar is set to breach further records in the coming days, including the rare milestone of the strongest fourth weekend ever for a Hindi film.
Hollywood release Avatar: Fire and Ash, the third entry in James Cameron’s sci-fi saga, maintained a firm second position among overall performers in India. The film recorded a ₹28.15 crore second weekend, comprising ₹7.65 crore on Friday, ₹9.75 crore on Saturday, and an estimated ₹10.75 crore on Sunday. Its India total has now reached ₹137.65 crore, following a ₹109.5 crore first week, boosted significantly by English and Hindi markets, while Tamil and Telugu contributed reasonably. The film has already become the highest-grossing Hollywood release in India for 2025 and remains stable in premium formats. However, its growth trajectory continues to be influenced by Dhurandhar’s dominance across national chains, with IMAX/3D screens split between the two major titles. Globally, Avatar has surpassed $760 million, indicating a robust international wave that is expected to strengthen as holidays progress.
Among new releases on December 25, business remained mixed with notable disconnect between openings and outcomes. Tu Meri Main Tera Main Tera Tu Meri, starring Kartik Aaryan and Ananya Panday and directed by Sameer Vidwans, delivered a four-day total of ₹23.75 crore, after opening at ₹7.75 crore on Thursday and settling into ₹5.25 crore Friday, ₹5.5 crore Saturday, and ₹5.25 crore Sunday. Despite the festive window, numbers remained below expectations for a commercial romantic film with a reported budget in the ~₹90 crore range. Early audience feedback suggests standard footfalls but no breakout word-of-mouth lift, positioning the film toward weak trending unless a sharp weekday recovery appears. With Dhurandhar absorbing multiplex attention and Avatar strong in metros, showcasing bandwidth remains limited, signalling that the film may face an uphill box office journey.
Kannada action-thriller Mark, featuring Sudeepa in the lead and directed by Vijay Kartikeyaa, stood next among new releases with a four-day cume of ₹18.50 crore, of which the weekend portion was approximately ₹9.9 crore. The film opened at ₹8.6 crore Thursday, but Friday fell sharply to ₹3.2 crore, indicating front-loaded buzz and mixed talk. Saturday held flat, and Sunday gained marginally. With a wide Karnataka release and pan-India dubbed versions in circulation, Mark will require positive weekday traction to establish a steady run outside home territory.
Malayalam fantasy-horror comedy Sarvam Maya, starring Nivin Pauly and directed by Akhil Sathyan, delivered one of the more encouraging regional performances of the frame. The movie posted a ₹17.85 crore four-day total, driven heavily by Kerala occupancy growth through the weekend. From ₹3.35 crore on opening day, the film rose to ₹3.9 crore Friday, ₹4.85 crore Saturday, and an estimated ₹5.75 crore Sunday, reflecting consistent climb — a promising sign for long-term hold. Strong pull among family audiences and positive Malayalam press response position Sarvam Maya as a likely steady holiday performer.
Another Kannada release, 45, starring Shiva Rajkumar, Upendra and Raj B. Shetty and directed by Arjun Janya, collected ₹11.45 crore across four days, with weekend earnings around ₹5.95 crore. After a modest ₹5.5 crore Thursday start, Friday dipped steeply to ₹2 crore, stabilising at ₹1.95 crore Saturday and approximately ₹2 crore Sunday. The film will require controlled drops and stronger word-of-mouth during weekdays to remain competitive as theatre space rotates into January.
Overall, the weekend narrative remained defined by Dhurandhar’s extraordinary momentum, Avatar’s stable second-week hold and distinctly varied fortunes for Christmas releases. With New Year footfalls ahead and audience traffic expected to stay elevated, the coming week should continue to reflect strong box office action — but it is Dhurandhar that stands at the centre of the moment, rewriting revenue benchmarks one weekend at a time.
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