The Vvaan: Force of the Forrest, starring Sidharth Malhotra and Tamannaah Bhatia, grossed Rs 9.6 crore in India on its opening day after releasing on Friday, September 25. Despite mediocre reviews and weak word of mouth, the opening makes it the actor's strongest day-one showing across his last ten films.
According to industry tracker Sacnilk, the film earned Rs 8 crore net across 6,746 shows, recording an occupancy of 26%. The opening looks promising compared with the month's other releases — Kareena Kapoor's Daayra and Kunal Khemu's Vibe each struggled to register around Rs 1 crore — though it remains to be seen whether the film can sustain its momentum. Malhotra's last release, Param Sundari, had a promising opening of Rs 8.7 crore gross, saw a jump over the weekend, but eventually failed to hold at the box office.
A major test for Sidharth Malhotra
For Sidharth Malhotra, Vvaan is a significant test: he has been waiting for a theatrical hit since 2016. Kapoor & Sons, co-starring Fawad Khan and Alia Bhatt, was his last successful theatrical release — it earned Rs 143.4 crore worldwide against a reported budget of Rs 35 crore. In the decade since, the actor has appeared in 11 films, none of which worked at the box office, while Shershaah, which earned widespread praise, released directly on OTT during the pandemic.
The film also stars Tamannaah Bhatia in the lead role, marking her first Hindi theatrical release in a lead role in seven years. Her last, Khamoshi, co-starring Prabhu Deva, tanked at the box office; since then she has largely appeared in special song sequences in Hindi films, including Stree and Raid 2.
Competition and the folklore wave
Vvaan had a standalone release at the Hindi box office. The only major film released alongside it was Avengers: Endgame – Encore, the theatrical re-release of Marvel Studios' 2019 blockbuster with a few minutes of additional footage bridging directly to Avengers: Doomsday, scheduled for December. It earned Rs 8.68 crore gross across all languages, with the English version contributing the highest share at Rs 5.25 crore, across 3,635 shows.
Directed by Panchayat-fame Deepak Kumar Mishra in his feature film debut, Vvaan is rooted in Indian folklore and blends supernatural fantasy, mythology, action and thriller elements. It follows in the footsteps of folklore-inspired successes such as Kantara, Lokah and Stree, and is backed by Ekta and Shobha Kapoor, who were also behind successful supernatural television shows like Naagin. Per Cinema Express, the film — reportedly made on a budget of Rs 80 crore — failed to surpass the opening-day figures of Alpha (Rs 9.25 crore nett) and O'Romeo (Rs 8.5 crore nett), and faces stiff competition next week when Drishyam: The Conclusion arrives in theatres.
Sources:
The Indian Express: Vvaan box office — Sidharth Malhotra's latest opens better than his last 10 films
Cinema Express: The Vvaan box office day 1 fails to beat Alia Bhatt's Alpha, O'Romeo
According to industry tracker Sacnilk, the film earned Rs 8 crore net across 6,746 shows, recording an occupancy of 26%. The opening looks promising compared with the month's other releases — Kareena Kapoor's Daayra and Kunal Khemu's Vibe each struggled to register around Rs 1 crore — though it remains to be seen whether the film can sustain its momentum. Malhotra's last release, Param Sundari, had a promising opening of Rs 8.7 crore gross, saw a jump over the weekend, but eventually failed to hold at the box office.
A major test for Sidharth Malhotra
For Sidharth Malhotra, Vvaan is a significant test: he has been waiting for a theatrical hit since 2016. Kapoor & Sons, co-starring Fawad Khan and Alia Bhatt, was his last successful theatrical release — it earned Rs 143.4 crore worldwide against a reported budget of Rs 35 crore. In the decade since, the actor has appeared in 11 films, none of which worked at the box office, while Shershaah, which earned widespread praise, released directly on OTT during the pandemic.
The film also stars Tamannaah Bhatia in the lead role, marking her first Hindi theatrical release in a lead role in seven years. Her last, Khamoshi, co-starring Prabhu Deva, tanked at the box office; since then she has largely appeared in special song sequences in Hindi films, including Stree and Raid 2.
Competition and the folklore wave
Vvaan had a standalone release at the Hindi box office. The only major film released alongside it was Avengers: Endgame – Encore, the theatrical re-release of Marvel Studios' 2019 blockbuster with a few minutes of additional footage bridging directly to Avengers: Doomsday, scheduled for December. It earned Rs 8.68 crore gross across all languages, with the English version contributing the highest share at Rs 5.25 crore, across 3,635 shows.
Directed by Panchayat-fame Deepak Kumar Mishra in his feature film debut, Vvaan is rooted in Indian folklore and blends supernatural fantasy, mythology, action and thriller elements. It follows in the footsteps of folklore-inspired successes such as Kantara, Lokah and Stree, and is backed by Ekta and Shobha Kapoor, who were also behind successful supernatural television shows like Naagin. Per Cinema Express, the film — reportedly made on a budget of Rs 80 crore — failed to surpass the opening-day figures of Alpha (Rs 9.25 crore nett) and O'Romeo (Rs 8.5 crore nett), and faces stiff competition next week when Drishyam: The Conclusion arrives in theatres.
Sources:
The Indian Express: Vvaan box office — Sidharth Malhotra's latest opens better than his last 10 films
Cinema Express: The Vvaan box office day 1 fails to beat Alia Bhatt's Alpha, O'Romeo
