Naga Chaitanya and Sai Pallavi's much-anticipated love story, Thandel, released worldwide on February 7.
The film, which has been launched in Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi, garnered a strong pre-release buzz, which translated into impressive advance ticket sales for its opening day.
In fact, Thandel is on track to become Naga Chaitanya and Sai Pallavi's biggest opener to date, surpassing the success of their previous collaboration, Love Story.
As per Sacnilk, Thandel earned approximately ₹10.00 crore net in India on its first day across all languages (early estimates).
The Telugu version of the film, starring Naga Chaitanya and Sai Pallavi, earned ₹9.8 crore.
The Hindi version collected ₹15 lakh.
The Tamil version contributed ₹5 lakh to the total.
With such strong numbers across multiple languages, Thandel has made a great start at the box office, positioning itself as a major hit for the actors and the filmmakers.
Standing tall on high expectations, Thandel generated a lot of buzz before its release. However, despite the strong pre-release excitement, it couldn't surpass Naga Chaitanya's career-best opening. Love Story (2021) still holds the title as his biggest opener, with the film grossing around ₹10.50 crore on its first day.
While Thandel has had a solid start, it falls slightly short of matching the success of Love Story at the box office.
Thandel showed a diverse response across different languages on its opening day, February 7, 2025. Here’s the breakdown of its occupancy:
Telugu Occupancy: 53.58%
Hindi Occupancy: 9.13%
Tamil Occupancy: 9.08%
The film performed strongest in its original Telugu version, while the Hindi and Tamil versions saw more modest occupancy. This distribution highlights the film’s primary appeal to the Telugu-speaking audience, while also attracting interest from viewers in the other languages.
The storyline of Thandel is inspired by a real-life incident involving Indian fishermen from Andhra Pradesh. These fishermen were mistakenly captured by Pakistani authorities after they unknowingly crossed the international border due to poor weather conditions.
The film portrays their harrowing experience, shedding light on the challenges they faced and the emotional toll of being caught in a tense geopolitical situation. This compelling narrative adds depth to the film, combining real-life events with powerful storytelling.
The fishermen were imprisoned for 22 years, and Thandel focuses on their long and arduous struggle for freedom.
The story delves into the emotional turmoil they endured while in captivity, highlighting their resilience and the efforts of their families who fought tirelessly to bring them back home.
The film poignantly captures the anguish of separation, the enduring hope of their loved ones, and the eventual fight for justice, making it a powerful and heart-wrenching tale of human endurance and the strength of familial bonds.
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