The new year's cinematic offering, Sriram Raghavan's war drama Ikkis, has experienced a turbulent start at the box office. After a promising opening, the film faced a steep decline in its earnings on the second day of release.
A Promising Start Followed by a Steep Decline
Released on January 1, 2026, Ikkis marks acclaimed director Sriram Raghavan's first foray into the war genre. The biographical film tells the heroic story of India's youngest Param Vir Chakra awardee, Second Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal. Headlined by debutant Agastya Nanda and featuring veterans Dharmendra and Jaideep Ahlawat, the film opened to a respectable Rs 7 crore on its first day.
However, the momentum could not be sustained. According to data from industry tracker Sacnilk, the film's collections witnessed a near 50% downfall on Friday, January 2. The second-day earnings stood at approximately Rs 3.5 crore. This sharp drop has brought the total domestic net collection for Ikkis to Rs 10.5 crore after two days in theatres.
Occupancy Figures and Regional Performance
The overall occupancy for the film on Day 2 reflected the subdued collections. The national occupancy average was 14.72%. The day began slowly with morning shows recording only 5.75% occupancy. While footfall improved in the afternoon, reaching 14.73%, the growth stagnated in the latter half of the day. Evening shows saw an occupancy of 18.06%, with night shows peaking at 20.33%.
A regional breakdown shows that the Delhi-NCR circuit had the highest number of shows at 652, with an average occupancy of 17%. Mumbai followed with 424 shows and an occupancy of 14.25%. In total, Ikkis is running on over 2400 screens across the country.
Comparative Analysis and Stiff Competition
Despite the Day 2 drop, Ikkis has performed better than some recent benchmarks. It has surpassed the two-day total of the last major Hindi war film, 120 Bahadur, which collected only Rs 6.1 crore in its first two days. Furthermore, it has outperformed Raghavan's own previous directorial ventures. His last film, Merry Christmas, earned Rs 5.9 crore in two days, while the acclaimed Andhadhun had collected Rs 7.4 crore in the same period.
However, the film faces an uphill battle against two reigning blockbusters. Aditya Dhar's Dhurandhar, in its fourth week, continues its phenomenal run, adding Rs 8.75 crore on its 29th day alone and closing in on the Rs 750 crore domestic mark. Simultaneously, James Cameron's Avatar: Fire and Ash is holding strong in its third week, having earned over Rs 163 crore in India.
The coming weekend is now critical for Ikkis. Despite positive critical reviews and decent word-of-mouth, the film needs a strong rebound in audience turnout on Saturday and Sunday to build sustainable momentum and secure a long-term run in theatres amidst fierce competition.
