Mumbai: Ajay Devgn’s De De Pyaar De 2 finally hit theatres, but its opening day report card brings mixed news for both fans and the industry.The film had the benefit of brand recognition, good star power and a commercially friendly genre, but its opening day box office earnings were low. According to trends and industry tracking estimates, the film collected ₹8.5 crore on Friday, marking a weaker start than expected for a major Bollywood sequel.
The film began on a dull note across morning and noon shows. Occupancy was also low at 7.46% in the morning and 10.66% in the afternoon shows, which is obviously not reflected in the buzz. Nevertheless, things got better as the day went by. The evening shows recorded an improvement with 12.80% occupancy, whereas night shows recorded a tremendous increase of 25.26%, meaning that the movie still has a potential to gain momentum during the initial opening weekend. Multiplexes, especially, indicated a visible increase, which is a promising effect on the Saturday-Sunday growth of the film.
Nevertheless, these positive end-of-the-day developments did not see De De Pyaar De 2 opening at a higher box office than the first part of the film, which made ₹9.11 crore on its debut day in 2019. Trade experts believe that while the trailer was well received, the promotional activities that followed didn’t create sustained curiosity among audiences. With Ajay Devgn already delivering multiple sequels this year, including Raid 2 and Son of Sardaar 2, audience fatigue may also be playing a role. Interestingly, DDPD2 did perform better on Day 1 than Son of Sardaar 2 (₹7.5 cr), but lagged behind Ajay’s best opener of the year, Raid 2, which collected a strong ₹19.25 crore.
Adding to the film’s context is the fact that Ajay Devgn and R. Madhavan were last seen together in Shaitaan, one of the biggest surprise hits of 2024. That film opened at ₹14.75 crore and went on to earn ₹147 crore domestically, a benchmark that raised expectations for De De Pyaar De 2. But unlike the supernatural thriller, this sequel leans heavily into family drama, romance and situational comedy, genres that usually depend on positive word-of-mouth for sustained growth.
With over 5,100 shows screening across India, De De Pyaar De 2 has ample room to grow. The makers will now be counting on stronger weekend collections to push the film into a comfortable zone. Saturday–Sunday performance will be crucial in determining whether the film stabilises or risks falling short of its box office potential.
About De De Pyaar De 2
- Director: Anshul Sharma
- Writers: Luv Ranjan & Tarun Jain
- Producers: Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar, Luv Ranjan, Ankur Garg under T-Series Films and Luv Films
- Cast: Ajay Devgn (Ashish “Ashu” Mehra), Rakul Preet Singh (Ayesha Khurana), R. Madhavan (Rajji Khurana), Meezaan Jafri (Aditya), Jaaved Jaaferi, Gautami Kapoor, Ishita Dutta and more.
Plot
De De Pyaar De 2 picks up from the first De De Pyaar De, focusing on Ashish (Ajay), a 52-year-old London-based NRI, as he attempts to win over the family of his much younger girlfriend, Ayesha (Rakul Preet Singh).
This time, Ayesha’s father (played by R. Madhavan) brings in a younger suitor, promising more family comedy, awkwardness, and love-vs-age conflict.
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