Thamma stays on top, Kantara inches toward 2025 dominance, and mid-budget releases hold steady amid post-holiday slowdown;
The Diwali frame brought a rare mix of fireworks and fatigue at the Indian box office. As the festive buzz settled, the weekend of October 24–26, 2025, saw Thamma maintain its lead position, though the film’s performance reflected the usual post-holiday dip. Meanwhile, Kantara: A Legend Chapter 1 continued its extraordinary march and is now certain to surpass Chhaava to become 2025’s biggest Indian film both domestically and globally. Mid-range releases like Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat and Dude also sustained well in their second week, marking a steady weekend for the industry overall.
Thamma Tops the Weekend but Faces the Post-Holiday Slide
After a good festive opening, Thamma remained the weekend’s highest-grossing title. The big-budget entertainer, mounted on a reported ₹150 crore scale, drew large crowds during the Diwali holidays, collecting ₹24 crore on Tuesday, ₹18.6 crore on Wednesday, and ₹13 crore on Thursday. Once the holiday high subsided, the weekend brought a natural decline — ₹10 crore on Friday, ₹13.1 crore on Saturday, and ₹12.6 crore on Sunday.
With an estimated seven-day India net of ₹91.3 crore, Thamma is tracking solidly, though the second-week trend will determine its long-term standing. The film’s visual scale and family appeal have kept footfalls consistent, but sustaining momentum beyond the festive frame will be essential to justify its large investment. Trade analysts note that audience retention in urban centers remains promising, though mass circuits are showing early signs of fatigue.
Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat Maintains a Strong Hold
Among mid-range releases, Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat continues to emerge as a crowd-pleaser. Produced on an estimated ₹30 crore budget, the romantic drama has found favor across small-town audiences. The film earned ₹9 crore on Tuesday, ₹7.75 crore on Wednesday, and ₹6 crore on Thursday. Over the weekend, collections stabilized at ₹5.5 crore on Friday, ₹6.25 crore on Saturday, and ₹6.75 crore on Sunday, taking its total to approximately ₹41.25 crore in six days.
With controlled costs and consistent word-of-mouth, Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat is on course to achieve profitability in its second week. Its performance reinforces the growing trend of mid-budget films carving out solid business between tent-pole releases.
Kantara: A Legend Chapter 1 on Track to Become 2025’s Biggest Film
In its fourth weekend, Kantara: A Legend Chapter 1 once again outperformed expectations. The Rishab Shetty-directed epic collected around ₹6.1 crore on Friday, ₹9 crore on Saturday, and ₹10.3 crore on Sunday, adding roughly ₹25.4 crore to its domestic tally. The film’s 26-day India net now stands at approximately ₹589.6 crore.
According to trade reports, Kantara has already become the second-highest-grossing Indian film of 2025, and it is now poised to claim the top spot outright. With a worldwide total crossing ₹800 crore, the film’s next milestone will be surpassing Chhaava’s domestic net, which appears inevitable in the coming weeks.
Its sustained box office run underscores the enduring power of regional storytelling. What began as a Kannada-led project has grown into a full-fledged national phenomenon, uniting audiences across linguistic boundaries. In doing so, Kantara has not only redefined the success trajectory for regional cinema but also positioned Rishab Shetty as one of the year’s defining creative forces.
A Shift in Market Dynamics
The post-Diwali weekend saw moderate drops across the board — a typical trend after an extended holiday frame. Big-budget films like Thamma experience early spikes due to family and festive turnout, followed by a natural settling of numbers. Meanwhile, smaller and mid-budget films continue to demonstrate how smart storytelling and controlled costs can generate sustained returns.
With multiple content-driven titles thriving in the ₹20–40 crore bracket, the market’s balance between spectacle and substance appears to be strengthening. Exhibitors noted that even as Thamma dominated multiplex chains, single-screen venues found steady occupancy thanks to Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat and Dude.
This weekend’s results highlight how India’s theatrical ecosystem continues to broaden — regional blockbusters are expanding nationwide, and smaller films are benefiting from word-of-mouth stability.
The coming weeks will be crucial in determining whether Thamma can maintain its pace beyond the holiday period. Mid-range performers like Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat and Dude will look to capitalize on steady weekday footfalls, while Kantara is almost certain to rewrite record books once it crosses Chhaava’s lifetime domestic total.
Industry watchers expect Kantara to officially emerge as 2025’s biggest film by early November, a testament to the audience’s growing appetite for rooted storytelling delivered with cinematic scale.
The Diwali frame of 2025 brought both celebration and correction to the Indian box office. While Thamma secured a strong lead as the festive favorite, the weekend ultimately belonged to Kantara: A Legend Chapter 1, whose unstoppable run continues to define the year’s theatrical landscape.
As Indian cinema enters its final quarter of 2025, the box office stands at an intriguing crossroads — where regional epics, mid-budget dramas, and large-scale spectacles coexist, each shaping a new and diverse future for the big screen.
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