The India box office saw a clear winner this weekend as Suriya’s Karuppu stormed ahead of all fresh releases, while holdover titles such as Raja Shivaji, Bhooth Bangla and Michael continued to draw audiences. The weekend also underlined a sharp divide between regional and star-driven event films on one side and underperforming Hindi releases on the other.
Karuppu emerged as the biggest new release of the weekend, collecting around ₹68 crore India net and approximately ₹120 crore worldwide gross in its opening frame. The film’s strong start placed it comfortably ahead of other fresh releases and gave Suriya another major box office moment.
Directed by RJ Balaji, Karuppu is a mythological mass-entertainer built around faith, justice and divine intervention. Suriya plays Saravanan, a lawyer who is also the human avatar of the deity Karuppusamy. The story follows a vulnerable father-daughter duo who are robbed and trapped inside a corrupt, predatory legal system, setting the stage for a larger battle between human injustice and divine force.
The film’s mix of mass appeal, mythological emotion and Suriya’s star power appears to have worked strongly across its core markets. Its worldwide opening above the ₹120 crore mark makes it the weekend’s biggest Indian box office story and gives the film a strong foundation for the weekdays ahead.
While Karuppu led the fresh-release race, Raja Shivaji continued its impressive run in its third weekend. The Marathi historical drama reportedly added around ₹7.6 crore in its third weekend, taking its total to approximately ₹85 crore. The film has already been one of the most important Marathi box office stories of the year, and its continued hold suggests strong audience support in Maharashtra.
The third-weekend number is especially significant because regional films often depend heavily on local momentum after the opening week. Raja Shivaji appears to have sustained that momentum well, extending what has already been described as a record-setting run for Marathi cinema. If the current total holds, the film is moving into rare territory for the industry.
Akshay Kumar and Priyadarshan’s Bhooth Bangla also remained steady in its fifth weekend. The horror comedy reportedly collected around ₹4 crore over the weekend, taking its total to nearly ₹168 crore. At this stage of its run, the film’s ability to keep adding meaningful numbers shows that it has found sustained audience acceptance beyond its opening rush.
For Hindi cinema, Bhooth Bangla remains one of the stronger long-running titles of the season. The film’s combination of horror, comedy and the Akshay-Priyadarshan reunion has helped it stay relevant even as new releases continue to enter theatres.
Hollywood title Michael also continued to perform well in India. The Michael Jackson biopic collected around ₹4.42 crore in its fourth weekend, with approximately ₹0.82 crore on Friday, ₹1.70 crore on Saturday and ₹1.90 crore on Sunday. Its India total now stands close to ₹60 crore.
That is a strong result for a Hollywood biopic in the Indian market. Michael has benefited from the enduring popularity of Michael Jackson’s music, strong curiosity around his life and continued audience interest across major urban centres. The fourth-weekend trend also shows that the film is not simply relying on opening-weekend hype.
Krishnavataram Part 1: The Heart showed a decent second-weekend hold. The film collected around ₹6.7 crore in its second weekend, taking its total near ₹20 crore. Its second Friday stood at around ₹1.20 crore, followed by ₹2.30 crore on Saturday and ₹3.20 crore on Sunday.
The growth from Friday to Sunday suggests that the film still has some audience traction. While it may not be operating at the scale of the weekend’s bigger titles, its second-weekend trend is respectable and indicates that word of mouth has not collapsed.
The weaker side of the weekend came from the Hindi fresh releases. Pati Patni Aur Woh Do opened to a disappointing weekend of around ₹17.5 crore. For a sequel carrying recognizable brand value, the start is below expectations and suggests limited audience excitement.
The film will now depend heavily on weekday stability, but the opening weekend does not give it much cushion. In a market where audiences are becoming increasingly selective, mid-range Hindi films need either strong pre-release buzz or excellent word of mouth to sustain. Pati Patni Aur Woh Do has started on the back foot.
Sanjay Dutt’s Aakhri Sawal performed even worse, collecting around ₹1.95 crore over the weekend. The film failed to make any real impact despite Dutt’s presence and appears to have struggled with awareness, audience interest and competition.
With such a low opening, Aakhri Sawal will find it extremely difficult to recover theatrically. Unless there is an unexpected turnaround, the film is likely to remain one of the weaker box office performers of the period.
Overall, the weekend belonged to Karuppu, which dominated the fresh-release space and delivered a major opening for Suriya. At the same time, Raja Shivaji, Bhooth Bangla and Michael showed that strong holdovers can continue to generate meaningful business when audience interest remains intact.
The larger takeaway is clear: event value, regional strength and strong audience connection are driving the Indian box office right now. Karuppu has delivered the biggest new-release impact, Raja Shivaji is extending a historic Marathi run, Bhooth Bangla remains a durable Hindi hit, and Michael continues to show the power of music-driven global storytelling in India.
On the other hand, the poor starts of Pati Patni Aur Woh Do and Aakhri Sawal show that familiar names and sequel branding are no longer enough. Audiences are rewarding films that feel urgent, emotional or event-worthy, while weaker buzz is being punished quickly.
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