De De Pyaar De 2 Stumbles on First Weekday
Ajay Devgn's latest cinematic offering, De De Pyaar De 2, has hit a significant roadblock at the box office, failing the crucial Monday test. The sequel to the popular 2019 romantic comedy opened in theatres last Friday and showed promise over the weekend. However, the first weekday revealed a sharp decline in audience turnout, casting a shadow over its future earnings potential.
A Steep 70% Decline in Earnings
After a fairly decent opening weekend that saw domestic earnings of Rs 34.75 crore, the film witnessed a dramatic fall on its fourth day. According to data from the industry tracker Sacnilk, De De Pyaar De 2 earned a mere Rs 4.25 crore on Monday. This represents a staggering drop of nearly 70% from Sunday's collection of Rs 13.75 crore. The film's total India net collection now stands at approximately Rs 39 crore.
The occupancy rates for the day painted a clear picture of the decline. The film registered an overall Hindi occupancy of 9.96% on Monday. The day began with sluggish morning shows at 6.53%, which saw a slight improvement to 9.42% in the afternoon. Evening shows hovered around 10.07%, with the night shows recording the highest occupancy at 13.82%.
A regional breakdown shows that Delhi-NCR, despite having the highest number of shows at 1,421, managed only a 9.5% occupancy. Mumbai, with 840 shows, performed marginally better with a 13.75% occupancy.
How It Compares to Other Films
The performance of De De Pyaar De 2 becomes even more stark when compared to other recent releases, including Ajay Devgn's own films.
Comparison with Other Ajay Devgn Films:
- The film has performed better than Son of Sardaar 2, which earned Rs 27.1 crore in four days.
- However, it significantly lags behind the sequel Raid 2, which had amassed Rs 71.25 crore by Day 4.
- It also trails the successful Shaitaan, Devgn's previous collaboration with R Madhavan, which collected Rs 61.25 crore in the same period.
- Even the original De De Pyaar De had earned more, with Rs 44.73 crore by its fourth day.
Comparison with 2025 Major Releases:
The film is also falling behind several other major releases of the year. Housefull 5 had already crossed the Rs 100 crore mark by Day 4. Aamir Khan's Sitaare Zameen Par managed Rs 66.65 crore, and even Salman Khan's underperforming Sikandar posted Rs 84.25 crore in its first four days. Ayushmann Khurrana's festive release Thamma collected Rs 65.6 crore despite mixed reviews.
An Uncertain Road Ahead
The sharp drop on the first weekday is a worrying sign for the film's long-term box office viability. With new titles such as 120 Bahadur, Mastii 4, Tere Ishq Mein, Gustaakh Ishq, and Dhurandhar scheduled for release over the next three weeks, the competition is only set to intensify. The combined star power of Ajay Devgn and R Madhavan, along with the goodwill from the original film, does not seem to have been enough to sustain audience interest past the opening weekend. The critical question now is whether De De Pyaar De 2 can regain some momentum during the remaining weekdays or the upcoming weekend, or if this steep decline signals a premature end to its box office run.
