Punjabi film Ishqan De Lekhe is on course to emerge as a HIT, with the film recording a very good second weekend at the Indian box office. The Gurnam Bhullar headlined romantic drama grossed Rs. 4 crore (Rs. 3.35 crore nett) approx in its second weekend, up by around 85 per cent from its opening weekend. That takes its 10-day running total to Rs. 9 crore (Rs. 7.60 crore nett) approx.
The film has also done well overseas, with USD 525K (Rs. 4.85 crore) approx, giving it a worldwide box office gross of just under Rs. 15 crore. Having said that, it is one of the rare Punjabi films to do better domestically than overseas, as lately it is the overseas box office that is driving the Punjabi films, with domestic taking the back seat.
Even in India, the film is outperforming outside of Punjab state, with the Haryana centres faring relatively better, along with Delhi and Rajasthan. The genre is probably playing the part; being a romantic film, perhaps, gives it better appeal outside Punjab as compared to comedies.
Normally, from where the film stands today, on the back of a superb trend, one would expect it to clear Rs. 15 crore total, possibly more. However, the film faces a very tough competition from Dhurandhar: The Revenge, which will be curtailing its run. Still, if the film could retain some showcasing in the third week, it should be able to collect and that would make it a HIT. It’s been some time since the industry had a HIT domestically. Ishqan De Lekhe will be ending that drought. The last year was rough for the industry. There are some promising titles slated to release this year; the hope will be that they continue this winning run of Ishqan De Lekhe.
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