‘Ikkis’ Day 1 Box Office Collection: Agastya Nanda-Dharmendra Drama Opens At Rs 7 Crore, Beats Tu Meri Main Tera Main Tera Tu Meri, Trails Dhurandhar

‘Ikkis’ Day 1 Box Office Collection: The year 2026 started in a very impressive way for the film industry as Ikkis, a war drama directed by Sriram Raghavan, took the lead at the box office with a hefty ₹7 crore opening. The movie portrays the heroic life of Second Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal and marks the debut of Agastya Nanda and the ending of Dharmendra’s extraordinary career. 

Although the biopic came to light in a somewhat congested January calendar, it did well to connect with the public, especially in the areas where the story of the 1971 Indo-Pak war was recognized. The film did well to keep the rom-com Tu Meri Main Tera Main Tera Tu Meri at a distance, but on the other hand, it had to face the strong box-office hit Dhurandhar, which has been breaking records even in the fourth week of its release.

Ikkis Strategic Market Domination

Ikkis’s performance has provided unmistakable signals about the audience’s inclination towards highly dramatized biographies. Its daily gross of ₹7 crore, in fact, outright demolished the about ₹1.30 crore daily gross of the Kartik Aaryan and Ananya Panday starrer Tu Meri Main Tera, which had seen its fortunes fall to that level on the same day.

This transition indicates that traditional romantic comedies are no longer able to compete with gritty, performance-driven dramas. Ikkis enjoyed a great deal of 31.94% occupancy in Hindi circuits, mainly due to New Year holidays and the emotional impact of Dharmendra’s posthumous release, and was able to prove that content heavy with substance can victoriously push aside star-led commercial ventures. 

Historical Box Office Benchmarking

Ikkis has successfully made its way through a difficult path of competition with the established Dhurandhar. The espionage thriller with Ranveer Singh as the lead remains an unrestrained player, drawing in a jaw-dropping ₹15.75 crore on day 28, almost two times Raghavan’s current movie’s first-day collection. 

This “Dhurandhar wave” has raised such a high standard, which Ikkis could not surpass, given that the old picture is still having more than 4,000 screens across the country. Though Ikkis has laid down a pretty big base for a decent weekend ascent, it is still under the shadow of the most significant flick of the year, pointing out that even a much-awaited war saga requires a remarkable burst to dethrone a king.

Also Read: Ikkis First Review: Dharmendra’s Last Film Turns Deeply Emotional As Agastya Nanda Truly Shines, Leaving Fans Curious