Ikkis Box Office Stabilizes; Dharmendra Pulls Crowds in North

After a hesitant opening, the Ikkis box office is finally showing some movement. The Agastya Nanda-led war drama, directed by Sriram Raghavan, began its run with muted advance bookings and cautious trade buzz.

But as the extended weekend wrapped up, the film showed better stability than expected, especially when compared to recent releases that failed to register any impact.

While Ikkis hasn’t broken out in a big way, it has clearly outperformed Kartik Aaryan and Ananya Panday’s Tu Meri Main Tera Main Tera Tu Meri, which struggled to draw audiences. Early trade estimates now place Ikkis at a cumulative Rs 20 crores, helped by the holiday window and steady footfalls in select circuits.

Trade analyst Taran Adarsh believes the real test has begun now that the holiday cushion is gone. “Right now the numbers are not fully in sync, and that’s because the holiday advantage ended on Sunday (Jan 4). Monday (Jan 5) is the real deciding factor in terms of where the film is actually headed,” he tells mid-day.

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Breaking down the trend, Adarsh adds, “Ikkis opened at approximately Rs 7 crore on Thursday, January 1 before dropping to around Rs 4 crore on Friday, January 2. Saturday did show some growth at roughly R4.5 crore, which indicates that there is audience acceptance. However, this is not the kind of growth you can bank comfortably on. Sunday, January 4 is expected to remain in the same range rather than showing a dramatic spike which would have helped the film. Ikkis will have to rely on a strong word of mouth.”

A major boost for the Ikkis box office has come from Punjab and North India, where Dharmendra’s presence continues to strike an emotional chord. Single screens in these regions have reported stronger-than-expected collections.

Distributor Gurmeet Singh Seble notes, “For the audience here, this is not just another Friday release. Dharamji is part of their growing-up years. Even if the opening weekend wasn’t massive, the film is holding well show-to-show in these circuits and will continue to do so until Border 2 [releases].”

Summing it up, trade analyst Girish Wankhede says, “Ikkis may not be a runaway hit, but it has legs.” He adds, “Ikkis is a very good film, but today, ‘very good’ is sometimes not enough.”