The Indian box office this weekend did not merely deliver another strong frame—it revealed a clear hierarchy in how audiences are choosing their theatrical experiences. At the centre of everything stood Dhurandhar, a film that has now crossed the line from blockbuster success into historic territory. Around it, the rest of the market settled into sharply defined roles: star-driven films opening big but burning fast, holdovers slowing under pressure, and regional titles surviving on consistency rather than spectacle.
What makes this weekend especially instructive is not just the scale of numbers, but the clarity with which audience behaviour has revealed itself.
By the end of its first week, Dhurandhar had already amassed ₹207.25 crore India nett—a staggering figure achieved without the support of a holiday corridor. While early reporting around the film’s opening day included a heavy paid-preview feed that initially distorted perceptions, the dust has now settled. The corrected and stabilised numbers tell an even more powerful story: this is a film whose demand has widened, not faded, with time.
The first week itself was extraordinary. After a strong opening weekend, Dhurandhar resisted the usual post-Sunday collapse. Monday’s correction was controlled, Tuesday rebounded sharply, and Wednesday and Thursday both held flat at ₹27 crore. Such midweek stability at this scale is almost unheard of in the post-pandemic Hindi box office.
Then came the second weekend—and with it, the clearest signal yet that the film had entered rarefied territory. Instead of declining, the second Friday grew. Saturday exploded, and Sunday—still based on rough estimates—pushed close to ₹60 crore. In effect, Dhurandhar delivered an opening-weekend-sized surge in its second weekend.
From a trade standpoint, this is the defining takeaway. Paid previews may have inflated the very first day, but they do not create second-weekend explosions. Only sustained word of mouth, repeat viewing, and mass acceptance can do that. With momentum expected to carry into the third week—even with Avatar entering the marketplace—Dhurandhar is now firmly on course for an easy ₹500 crore nett lifetime and has opened a legitimate conversation around ₹600 crore nett, a milestone no original Hindi film has ever achieved.
This is not franchise cinema. It is not holiday-assisted. It is event cinema in its purest form.
In contrast, Akhanda followed a far more recognisable star-driven trajectory. Strong paid previews on Thursday fed into a massive Friday dominated almost entirely by Telugu markets. However, the film corrected sharply on Saturday and failed to show meaningful growth on Sunday.
The internal trend makes the nature of the run clear. Akhanda peaked early, exhausting its core fan base within the first 48 hours. Other language versions contributed symbolically rather than substantively, reinforcing that this was a regional mass opening rather than a widening national run. From here, the film’s fate will be determined by weekday holds in core territories, not expansion.
Tere Ishk Mein has quietly completed a commendable theatrical journey. Having crossed the ₹100 crore nett mark in its second week, the film added roughly ₹4 crore over its third weekend, taking its total business to around ₹114 crore.
The slowdown now visible is not a rejection—it is saturation. Screen loss due to Dhurandhar’s dominance and the natural lifecycle of a romantic drama have capped further growth. From a trade perspective, Tere Ishk Mein stands as a clear success within its genre and budget bracket, even if it was never positioned to compete with large-scale action cinema.
Among regional releases, Kalamkaval continues to demonstrate the value of consistency. After a solid first week, the film showed controlled drops in its second week and retained weekend elasticity. Crossing ₹32 crore nett in ten days, its run is being driven by steady occupancy in Kerala circuits and repeat family audiences rather than headline-grabbing spikes.
This is a classic legs-based performance—quiet, durable, and commercially respectable.
The Devil tells a different story altogether. A strong opening day, boosted by previews and hype, was followed by a steep Friday crash of over 60 percent. While the film stabilised modestly over the weekend, the damage had already been done. The run remains heavily dependent on its opening day, with limited upside unless weekday holds prove unexpectedly strong.
At the smaller end of the scale, Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon 2 opened low and grew gradually across the weekend, finishing its first three days with modest numbers. The absence of any breakout moment suggests limited urgency viewing, with the film now reliant entirely on weekday stability to extend its run.
This weekend leaves the trade with a message that is hard to ignore. Audiences are not drifting away from theatres—they are choosing carefully. Paid previews can inflate openings, but they cannot sustain momentum. Fan-driven films peak fast. Mid-budget films survive only through legs. And when a film truly captures the public imagination, the response can still be overwhelming.
With Dhurandhar, the Indian box office hasn’t just found a hit—it has found a reminder of what happens when scale, acceptance, and cultural timing align.
