Feb 11, 2026 2:48pm IST
From ‘Chhaava’ to ‘Love Aaj Kal 2’: Bollywood’s Love-Hate Relationship with Box-Office During Valentine’s Day Weekend
While Bollywood always cashes in on Diwali, Eid, Christmas and Independence Day weekend to get maximum footfalls and box-office numbers, the Valentine’s Day potential to impact box-office fortunes remains underutilized.
Initially, the makers used to play it safe by primarily releasing romantic dramas during the weekend around February; however, in recent years, the studios have been placing their bets with their big-ticket films, irrespective of the genres.
As Shahid Kapoor-Triptii Dimri starrer “O’ Romeo” and Shanaya Kapoor-Adarsh Gourav’s “Tu Yaa Main” are hitting the screens this Friday, let’s have a look at previous Valentine’s Day releases that struck gold and those that failed to impress at the box office.
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Chhaava
The Vicky Kaushal, Rashmika Mandanna and Akshaye Khanna-starrer biographical period action-drama based on the life of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, earned over ₹601 crore and emerged as one of the biggest Bollywood grossers of all time. Directed by Laxman Utekar, the film's music was composed by AR Rahman.
Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya
The sci-fi rom-com featuring Shahid Kapoor and Kriti Sanon, bankrolled by Maddock Films and Jio Studios, was a decent success at the ticket windows with a collection of just above ₹85 crore. The movie narrated the story of a robotics engineer falling in love with a female robot. It was directed by Amit Joshi and Aradhana Sah.
Shiv Shastri Balboa
Anupam Kher, Neena Gupta and Jugal Hansraj starrer “Shiv Shastri Balboa,” which released with low buzz, raked in merely ₹55 lakh during its theatrical run. It was directed by Ajayan Venugopalan and shot mostly in New Jersey, USA.
Badhaai Do
The spiritual sequel to “Badhaai Ho,” featuring Rajkummar Rao and Bhumi Pednekar, depicted a couple in a lavender marriage. With a collection of just above ₹20 crore, the comedy-drama turned out to be a major disappointment at the boxoffice.
Gully Boy
Filmmaker Zoya Akhtar’s “Gully Boy,” which starred Ranveer Singh, Siddhant Chaturvedi and Alia Bhatt in lead roles, garnered accolades as well as box-office numbers. Inspired by the lives of Indian street rappers, DIVINE and Naezy, the film collected close to ₹140 crore in the domestic market.
Love Aaj Kal 2
The rom-com drama featuring Kartik Aaryan and Sara Ali Khan and directed by Imtiaz Ali opened to a great response on Valentine’s Day, but the negative word-of-mouth impacted its business, thus making it a box-office flop with a collection just below ₹40 crore.
Jolly LLB 2
The legal comedy drama featuring Akshay Kumar, Huma Qureshi, Saurabh Shukla and Annu Kapoor emerged as a box office success with a business of ₹117 crore. Directed by Subhash Kapoor, it was bankrolled by Fox Star Studios.
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