Friday Box Office Report: ‘Maysabha’ Fails to Replicate ‘Tumbbad’ Magic; ‘Gandhi Talks’ and ‘Human Cocaine’ Also Slow

The Friday box office saw a sluggish start for new releases, with Javed Jaffrey’s Maysabha and Vijay Sethupathi’s Gandhi Talks failing to make an impact. Neither film crossed the ₹1 crore mark on opening day. Pushkar Jog’s Human Cocaine performed the worst, earning just ₹1 lakh.

Among the new releases, only Rani Mukerji’s Mardaani 3 showed some promise, though even it collected less than ₹5 crore on day one. Maysabha, Gandhi Talks, and Human Cocaine all earned in the low lakh range, with Human Cocaine limited to just ₹1 lakh.

‘Maysabha’ Box Office Performance
Directed by Rahi Anil Barve, Maysabha collected only ₹12 lakh on opening day. Expectations were higher since it is the director’s second film after 2018’s Tumbbad, which had earned ₹65 lakh on its first day. The 2024 re-release of Tumbbad, starring Soham Shah, performed much better, raking in ₹2.60 crore on opening day. The lifetime collection of Tumbbad stands at ₹44.05 crore.

Maysabha: The Hall of Illusion is a psychological thriller featuring Javed Jaffrey as filmmaker Parmeshwar Khanna, who lives with his son in a dilapidated cinema hall rumored to hide a treasure. With limited shows and relying on word-of-mouth publicity, the film’s weekend performance may improve.

‘Gandhi Talks’ Box Office Performance
Vijay Sethupathi, Aditi Rao Hydari, and Arvind Swami star in Gandhi Talks, a silent, experimental film directed by Kishore Pandurang Belkar with music by A.R. Rahman. Released pan-India, it earned around ₹75 lakh on opening day. The film explores human emotions—greed, honesty, hope, and humanity—through its silent narrative and will depend on audience word-of-mouth for growth.

‘Human Cocaine’ Box Office Performance
Directed by Shriram Momin, Human Cocaine is a crime thriller delving into the ruthless world of the drug trade. Starring Pushkar Jog, Zakir Hussain, and Siddhant Kapoor, the film fared poorly at the box office, collecting just ₹1 lakh on opening day. With minimal shows, there is little hope for significant recovery.

‘Mardaani 3’ Box Office Performance
Among the new releases, Rani Mukerji’s Mardaani 3 performed the best, earning ₹3.80 crore on its first day. Despite limited screenings, this is considered a decent start. With the departure of Dhruandhar from theaters and dwindling interest in Border 2, Mardaani 3 could benefit from increased audience attention in the coming days. The film’s budget is reported to be around ₹30–35 crore, giving it a good opportunity to maximize earnings before the release of O Romeo on February 13.

‘Border 2’ Update
Sunny Deol’s Border 2, released on January 23 across 4,800 screens with 17,000 shows, continues to see declining collections. On its second Friday, it earned ₹10.75 crore, down from ₹11.25 crore on Thursday and ₹13 crore on Wednesday. The film has grossed ₹322.50 crore worldwide and ₹235 crore net in India over eight days.