Anurag Kashyap’s crime drama Bandar is struggling to make a mark at the box office. Despite a 90% jump on its second day, the absolute numbers remain deeply underwhelming, raising serious questions about the film’s commercial viability.
Released on June 5, 2026 by Zee Studios, the Bobby Deol-starrer had already battled a turbulent pre-release period — and the box office has not offered much relief since.
A jump that flatters to deceive
According to Sacnilk, Bandar collected a net of Rs 95 lakh on Day 2 across 1,257 shows, bringing its two-day India net total to just Rs 1.45 crore. While the 90% growth over the opening day’s Rs 50 lakh sounds significant in percentage terms, the base was so low that the numbers remain a cause for concern.
The film has not managed to cross Rs 1 crore in a single day, even on a Saturday — typically the strongest box office day of the week. Overall occupancy on Day 2 stood at 22.06%, per Sacnilk, with morning shows as low as 5.46%. Even the better-performing cities such as Hyderabad at 31.3% and Bengaluru at 26.8% could not move the needle on the aggregate numbers in any meaningful way.
A tough road ahead
The context makes the collections even harder to spin positively. Bandar was up against multiple new releases including Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai, the Hollywood horror film Obsession, and Ram Charan’s Peddi — competition that has clearly pulled audiences away.
The film’s Adults Only certification, which limits its potential audience pool, has not helped. The pre-release period was also rocky — as reported by Sacnilk, Zee Studios briefly halted multiplex showcasing after national chains PVR, Inox, and Cinepolis reportedly offered unfavourable show timings.
The makers had deliberately planned a modest 500–600 screen release, banking on word-of-mouth to sustain a longer run. That strategy requires audience enthusiasm to translate into actual footfalls — something that has not convincingly happened yet.
Directed by Kashyap and written by Sudip Sharma and Abhishek Banerjee, the team behind Paatal Lok and Udta Punjab, Bandar features Bobby Deol as Samar, a fading television actor caught in a false rape accusation and a corrupt legal system.
The film premiered to critical acclaim at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2025, but festival goodwill has so far failed to translate into box office momentum. With weekday collections all but certain to go off a cliff, a major recovery seems unlikely without a dramatic and sustained boost to word-of-mouth.