May 23, 2026 12:46pm IST
‘Chand Mera Dil’ Struggles at Box Office, ‘Drishyam 3’ Goes Past ₹75 Crore Worldwide In Two Days
Not all love stories get love. Lakshya and Ananya Pandey's "Chand Mera Dil” opened to low numbers at the box office — ₹2.85 crore net.
Its first-day collection is far below trade expectations. In fact, it's lower than even last week's “Pati Patni Aur Woh Do," which also opened with an underwhelming first day at ₹3.80 crore net. Despite a positive response to the trailer and songs of “Chand Mera Dil," the film had failed to generate a substantial pre-release buzz, and that was clearly reflected in the theatre occupancy it registered throughout Friday.
The producers’ strategic ticket pricing — ₹149 for shows before 5 pm and ₹199 for shows after 5 pm on the first day — had limited impact on audience turnout, indicating either a lack of audience interest or inadequate promotional reach for the film. The mixed to negative reviews and word of mouth seem to have further hampered the collections. For a romantic drama backed by a major banner like Dharma Productions, such a low start is concerning.
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Although a film cannot be written off based solely on its first-day performance, the combination of a low opening and negative reviews suggests that “Chand Mera Dil” could have a difficult road ahead.
Meanwhile, “Drishyam 3," the Mohanlal starrer, is performing extremely well. It opened at ₹15 crore net on Thursday, emerging as the second biggest Malayalam opener of all time, and added another ₹10.50 crore net on its second day, taking its two-day total to ₹25.50 crore net in India. Though the film witnessed a sharp decline in footfalls yesterday due to mixed reviews and word of mouth.
The overseas performance of “Drishyam 3," however, has been remarkable. The film's international earnings are nearly double its domestic business. It has already grossed more than ₹45 crore overseas, pushing its worldwide gross to ₹75.09 crore within just two days of release.
As for Hollywood's “Star Wars: The Mandalorian & Grogu," the film opened at ₹71 lakhs on Friday. Ayushmann Khurrana's “Pati Patni Aur Woh Do” collected ₹1.25 crore on its second Friday, taking its total to ₹30 crore net.
On the Tamil front, Suriya's action entertainer “Karuppu” continues its blockbuster run and started its second week strongly with ₹7.50 crore net on its 8th day, pushing its overall domestic total to an impressive ₹107.64 crore net so far.
Figures are taken from RecoBee.
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