The Indian box office has become a battlefield of sorts this January as the heavyweight Dhurandhar goes on with his historic rampage while facing the fresh challenger Ikkis.
Aditya Dhar’s spy thriller has been running for four weeks and is still not ready to let go of the box office, as it recently surpassed the impressive ₹830 crore mark in the domestic market.
On the other hand, Sriram Raghavan’s biopic war drama Ikkis, which marks the debut of Agastya Nanda alongside the great Dharmendra, is facing a tough time in theaters.
The heartfelt one being that it is Dharmendra’s last movie, the film still finds it hard to get more people to watch it than the seasoned spy-thriller, which has already been crowned as the highest-grossing Hindi film of all time.
Dhurandhar’s Domestic Dominance and Record-Breaking Run
Dhurandhar’s success has been so immense that the modern box office standards have been completely changed. Even on the 34th day of film, it is still earning revenue of approximately ₹4.25 to ₹4.75 crore, which most of the new releases are unable to make on their first Mondays.
Its total Indian net collection has already exceeded ₹785 crore, thus pushing previous blockbusters like Pushpa 2: The Rule and Jawan down from the throne.
The Ranveer Singh-starrer has globally crossed the ₹1,220 crore mark, which is a remarkable achievement in view of its ban in the Gulf area. The film’s “double-digit streak” lasted 28 days, which is the longest ever, and it has caused a huge demand from audiences that is still being satisfied in the movie theaters now.
Ikkis: Theatrical Struggles and Niche Appeal
Ikkis is a film that is surviving on the brink in a market where high-octane action is the leading genre. The film had a good opening of ₹ 7 crore, but after that, it saw a continuous drop in numbers, with only ₹ 1.15 to ₹ 1.50 crore being the range of its weekday collections recently.
It is said to have a total of ₹ 24.25 crore from the domestic market, which means it is still far from recovering its production cost of ₹ 60 crore, as it has only gotten back around 40% of it.
Critics have given a lot of appreciation to Agastya Nanda’s subtle portrayal of the hero Arun Khetarpal, but the film’s dull, realistic tone is not able to attract audiences in the same way as the “theatrical spectacle” offered by the competing film.
One of the major factors leading to this competition among films is the screen count; theaters are still putting their money on the blockbuster that attracts the most viewers over the new biographical drama.
A recent media graduate, Bhumi Vashisht is currently making a significant contribution as a committed content writer. She brings new ideas to the media sector and is an expert at creating strategic content and captivating tales, having working in the field from past four months.
