The Girlfriend Stumbles at Box Office Despite Praise
Rashmika Mandanna's latest Telugu offering, The Girlfriend, has opened to a surprisingly tepid response at the box office, collecting an estimated Rs 1.3 crore on its first day, Friday, November 8, 2025. This comes as a shock, especially since the film has been met with positive word-of-mouth, with many critics and audiences hailing it as Rashmika's career-best performance.
Detailed Day 1 Occupancy and Screen Count
According to data from industry tracker Sacnilk, the film managed an overall Telugu occupancy of only 16.90% on its opening day. The viewership saw a gradual increase as the day progressed:
- Morning shows: 12.83%
- Afternoon shows: 15.40%
- Evening shows: 15.80%
- Night shows: 23.55%
The film was released on 838 screens in the Telugu-speaking markets. Bengaluru had the highest number of shows at 278, but recorded a poor 9% occupancy. Hyderabad fared better with 258 shows and a 26% occupancy rate. In a limited Hindi release across 99 screens, the film could only muster a 6.89% overall occupancy.
How It Stacks Up Against Rashmika's Other Films
This opening is particularly underwhelming when viewed in the context of Rashmika Mandanna's stellar box office run in 2025. She began the year with the blockbuster Chhaava, which is the highest-grossing Hindi film of the year with earnings of Rs 601.54 crore. This was followed by Sikandar with Salman Khan (Rs 110.1 crore), and the respectable performers Kuberaa in Telugu (Rs 138.1 crore) and Thamma in Hindi (Rs 127.1 crore).
More specifically for her Telugu releases, The Girlfriend now holds the unfortunate title of her lowest opener in recent years. Her previous films opened to much stronger numbers:
- Aadavallu Meeku Johaarlu: Rs 1.56 crore
- Sita Ramam: Rs 3.05 crore
- Geetha Govindam: A massive Rs 10 crore
The only silver lining is that the film performed better than her Hindi debut, Goodbye, which collected around Rs 1 crore on its first day.
A Crowded and Competitive Box Office Landscape
The Girlfriend faces an uphill battle in a crowded marketplace. It is competing with several other films, including Yami Gautam's Haq, which opened slightly higher at Rs 1.65 crore. Milap Zaveri's Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat is still going strong in its third week with a cumulative total of Rs 72.15 crore. Furthermore, Rashmika's own Diwali release, Thamma, co-starring Ayushmann Khurrana, continues to draw audiences and is expected to cross the Rs 130 crore mark soon. Adding to the competition is the re-release of SS Rajamouli's epic Baahubali: The Epic, which has already collected Rs 30.70 crore in its first week back in theaters.
The central question now is whether the positive critical and audience reception for The Girlfriend can overcome the slow start and propel its box office numbers over the crucial weekend.
