The festive cheer seems to have faded quickly for Kartik Aaryan and Ananya Panday's latest romantic comedy, 'Tu Meri Main Tera Main Tera Tu Meri'. The Dharma Productions film, which released on Christmas, is facing a steep decline in its theatrical run, with its sixth-day collection painting a grim picture.
Sharp Decline in Box Office Numbers
According to data from industry tracker Sacnilk, the film managed to earn only Rs 1.75 crore on its sixth day, which was Tuesday. This mirrors its disappointing first Monday collection, indicating a complete lack of growth on weekdays. The film's total collection after six days now stands at approximately Rs 27 crore.
The journey began with an opening day collection of Rs 7.75 crore, buoyed by the Christmas holiday. However, the momentum was short-lived. The film witnessed a sharp drop of 32.26% on its second day, and the collections have remained low since. Trade experts are now predicting that the film might wrap up its lifetime business in the range of Rs 40 to 50 crore, a modest figure for a production house like Dharma and a star of Kartik Aaryan's recent box office stature.
Loss of Screenings and Negative Word of Mouth
The financial dip is directly reflected in the number of screenings the film is receiving across the country. From an initial count of 2,290 shows on its release day, the film has now lost a significant number of screenings. The current show count has been reduced to 1,858, which means a loss of 432 shows in just six days.
This reduction is largely attributed to the negative word of mouth and poor reviews the film received post-release. Trade analyst Taran Adarsh, in a statement to Bollywood Hungama, highlighted the role of audience reception. "If the word of mouth had been positive, the holiday period would have worked in its favour," he said. He contrasted its performance with the blockbuster 'Dhurandhar', which gained unprecedented momentum purely through positive audience talk.
Stiff Competition and Future Prospects
The film's struggles are amplified by the strong performance of its competitors. While 'Tu Meri Main Tera' falters, the holdover release 'Dhurandhar' continues to earn in double digits even in its fourth week, making it a preferred choice for theatre owners. Furthermore, James Cameron's 'Avatar: Fire and Ash' is performing robustly, having collected Rs 5.15 crore on Monday alone and is set to cross the Rs 150 crore mark in India soon.
Looking ahead, the film faces another challenge with the upcoming release of Agastya Nanda's 'Ikkis' around the New Year. Directed by Shriram Raghavan and featuring veteran actor Dharmendra in his final film, 'Ikkis' could further dent the screen space and audience share for Kartik Aaryan's romantic comedy.
On the career front, Kartik Aaryan has two films lined up for 2026—a comedy titled 'Naagzilla' followed by Anurag Basu's untitled musical drama. Trade analyst Atul Mohan expressed optimism about the unique concept of 'Naagzilla'. For Ananya Panday, however, the search for a bona fide box office hit continues.
