Nithiin’s much-anticipated action drama Thammudu, directed by Venu Sriram, has unfortunately fallen short of expectations at the Indian box office.
Released on Friday, 4 July 2025, the Telugu-language film entered cinemas with moderate buzz, largely fuelled by its promotional material and Nithiin’s star power.
However, the film’s underwhelming content and lukewarm reception have taken a toll on its commercial performance.
Even though the movie made Rs 1.9 crore on its first day of release, it saw a sharp drop of almost 39% on Saturday, earning just Rs 1.16 crore. With early projections indicating a further decline to Rs 1.01 crore, the trend persisted into Sunday, bringing the three-day total to just Rs 4.07 crore net in India.
The low audience enthusiasm is also reflected in occupancy rates. Thammudu only had a 15.32% Telugu occupancy rate overall on Sunday. Morning shows began at 11.53% and only slightly improved in the afternoon (16.21%) and evening (17.97%) slots. Word-of-mouth did not pick up steam over the weekend, as night shows fell once more to 15.57%.
The movie's box office trajectory has undoubtedly been impacted by the conflicting reviews it received from both critics and viewers. Many criticised the screenplay for its predictability and lack of emotional depth, while others praised the effort to tell a gritty action story. The movie's reach has also been further restricted by its inability to draw in the "neutral" audience, or those who are not particularly fond of Nithiin or Telugu action movies.
Given the comparatively high level of pre-release interest, industry insiders are already calling Thammudu a box office letdown. The future appears increasingly uncertain as weekday numbers are predicted to decline even more.
Despite their prior successes, Nithiin and director Venu Sriram have not been able to recreate that magic in Thammudu, their second collaboration. The movie might soon stop showing in theatres entirely unless there is a sudden surge in demand in the days ahead.
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