Sriram Raghavan’s war drama Ikkis, starring Agastya Nanda, Dharmendra and Jaideep Ahlawat, witnessed a sharp dip at the box office on its second day. The film had a promising opening on January 1 which was fuelled by the New Year holiday. However, the film recorded a nearly 50% drop in collections on Day 2.
According to early estimates by industry tracker Sacnilk, Ikkis earned Rs 3.5 crore on its second day, taking its total net domestic collection to Rs 10.5 crore. The film had opened with Rs 7 crore on Day 1, which was considered a strong start given its serious war-based subject and also competition from the ongoing Dhurandhar wave. The film marks Agastya Nanda’s theatrical debut after The Archies which released in 2023 on Netflix.
The drop was largely expected as Day 2 fell on a working day. Occupancy figures remained modest, with an overall occupancy of 14.72%. Morning shows began slow at 5.75%, improving to 14.73% in the afternoon, before reaching 18.06% in the evening and 20.33% during night shows. Delhi-NCR led in terms of shows and occupancy, followed by Mumbai.
Ikkis holds emotional significance as it marks the final on-screen appearance of legendary actor Dharmendra. The legendary actor passed away on November 24.This release also marks one of the last films of veteran actor Asrani, who died on October 20.
The film introduces Simar Bhatia, Akshay Kumar’s niece, to Hindi cinema. Akshay Kumar recently penned an emotional note as Simar Bhatia geared up for the release of Ikkis.
The film tells the story of the life of Second Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal who was martyred at the age of 21 during the 1971 Indo-Pak War and posthumously awarded the Param Vir Chakra. Dharmendra essays the role of his father, Brigadier M.L. Khetarpal, while Jaideep Ahlawat plays Pakistani Brigadier Jaan Mohammad Nisar.
Despite the dip, Ikkis has performed better than several recent war films, including 120 Bahadur, and has also outpaced Sriram Raghavan’s previous releases Merry Christmas and Andhadhun in the same two-day window.
