The much-anticipated romantic drama Tere Ishk Mein, marking the return of the hit duo of director Aanand L Rai and actor Dhanush, has opened to a robust response at the domestic box office. The film, which also stars Kriti Sanon, successfully drew audiences to theatres on its first day, setting the stage for a potentially lucrative opening weekend.
A Strong Opening Day Collection
According to data from the industry tracker Sacnilk, Tere Ishk Mein collected approximately Rs 16.5 crore on its opening day across India. This figure represents a very positive start for the film, which had generated significant buzz due to its star cast and the musical genius of A.R. Rahman.
The film's occupancy rates tell a story of growing momentum throughout the day. The Hindi version saw an average occupancy of 25.77%. The viewership climbed as the day progressed, with morning shows at 15.29%, afternoon shows at 21.67%, and a significant jump in the evening (24.55%) and night shows (41.56%). The film also had a simultaneous release in Tamil, registering an average occupancy of around 20.84%.
How It Stacks Up Against the Competition
While the start is solid, the film's opening day earnings place it behind another recent romantic release, Mohit Suri's Saiyaara. The latter, starring newcomers Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda, had a surprisingly strong opening day collection of Rs 21 crore and went on to become a major commercial success with lifetime earnings of Rs 329 crore.
However, Tere Ishk Mein has comfortably outperformed other recent entrants. It earned nearly double the opening day collection of the surprise hit Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat (Rs 9 crore) and has also surpassed the opening numbers of the stars' previous solo projects.
For Kriti Sanon, this is a stronger opening than her last major release, Crew, which featured heavyweights Tabu and Kareena Kapoor Khan and opened at Rs 9 crore. For Dhanush, this Hindi film opening is higher than the Rs 11 crore his directorial Tamil venture, Idly Kadai, earned on its first day.
The Road Ahead for Tere Ishk Mein
The promising day-one numbers have positioned the film for a strong opening weekend. The real test will be its ability to maintain this momentum through the weekdays and beyond, especially in the face of competition and audience word-of-mouth. The collaboration of Aanand L Rai, Dhanush, and A.R. Rahman, which previously delivered the critically acclaimed Atrangi Re, seems to have once again resonated with viewers, setting the film on a path to box office success.
Directed by Aanand L Rai, Tere Ishk Mein features Dhanush and Kriti Sanon in lead roles. The music is composed by the Oscar-winning maestro A.R. Rahman, with lyrics penned by Irshad Kamil.
