Two Bollywood Films Flop Hard

- The Bhansali-produced *Do Deewane Seher Mein* was reportedly made on a budget of around ₹40 crore, meaning its opening weekend collections represent just over 11% of its estimated cost. - *Assi* was produced with a budget reported to be between ₹30-40 crore. The previous collaboration between director Anubhav Sinha and star Taapsee Pannu, *Thappad* (2020), had a better opening and went on to collect around ₹30 crore in total. - This marks another box office disappointment for Mrunal Thakur, whose recent Hindi films like *Gumraah*, *Aankh Micholi*, and *Jersey* were also commercial flops. Out of her seven theatrical releases since the COVID-19 pandemic, only the Telugu film *Sita Ramam* has been a clean hit. - For Siddhant Chaturvedi, the film's opening is lower than his last theatrical release, *Dhadak 2*, which opened at ₹3.5 crore. His filmography as a lead actor has previously seen commercial failures with *Bunty Aur Babli 2* and *Phone Bhoot*. - The poor performance of both films comes at a time when analysts are noting "Bollywood fatigue" among audiences, who are increasingly turning to streaming services and have become more selective about theatrical releases post-pandemic. - The failure of *Do Deewane Seher Mein* is a rare miss for Bhansali Productions, which has recently produced major box office successes like *Gangubai Kathiawadi* (2022) and backed blockbuster directorial ventures from Sanjay Leela Bhansali including *Padmaavat* (2018) and *Bajirao Mastani* (2015). - Both films faced competition from other movies currently in theaters, including the Vishal Bhardwaj-directed *O' Romeo*, which collected ₹2.25 crore on the same Friday, bringing its eight-day total to ₹49.37 crore. - The opening for *Assi* is a career-low for Taapsee Pannu in recent years; it is her weakest opening day at the box office in the last 3.5 years, since her 2022 film *Dobaaraa* opened to ₹72 lakh.