The fifth installment of the wildly popular Housefull franchise has kicked off its theatrical run with a bang. Despite not receiving great reviews from critics, Housefull 5 has struck gold with the audience, raking in Rs 87 crore over its opening weekend.
The comedy, helmed by director Tarun Mansukhani, is a new spin on the franchise by introducing a murder-mystery angle aboard a lavish cruise ship.
According to preliminary estimates, the film pulled in Rs 32 crore on Sunday, which is a 3.23% jump from Saturday’s earnings. It opened on Friday with Rs 22 crore and saw a boost on Saturday, which coincided with the Bakri Eid holiday, collecting Rs 28.50 crore. By Sunday, the total weekend figure stood at Rs 87 crore.
Trade analyst Taran Adarsh called the weekend performance of Housefull 5 “an excellent result by all standards.” He added, “Most importantly, the Housefull franchise continues to be critic-proof – no amount of negativity or trolling has impacted its Box Office.” According to Adarsh, the film’s “loud and clear” audience approval has led to its strong showing.
While the film fell just short of the Rs 90 crore weekend benchmark, the trend is growing. Industry watchers are now looking at how the film performs on Monday, which is a make-or-break day for box office longevity. If Housefull 5 can maintain a Rs 10 crore+ daily average through Thursday, it could close its first week around Rs 114 crore. A strong weekday run could mean that the film will cross Rs 200 crore in lifetime collections, potentially making it the most successful entry in the Housefull series.
In terms of 2025 Bollywood openings, Housefull 5 currently ranks third, trailing behind Chhaava (Rs 31 crore) and Sikandar (Rs 26 crore) for day-one collections. Over the weekend, it recorded the second-highest haul of the year, behind Chhaava’s impressive Rs 121.43 crore.
On Sunday, Housefull 5A reported a national average occupancy of 39.52%, with evening shows climbing to 54.77%. The alternate version, Housefull 5B, registered 24.49% overall, with peak evening occupancy at 36.40%.
A standout feature of Housefull 5 is the release of two climaxes – 5A and 5B. This unusual approach, with different killer reveals in each version, has also sparked curiosity among people who have come back to watch both versions.
The film stars Akshay Kumar and Riteish Deshmukh reprising their franchise roles, alongside an ensemble cast that includes Abhishek Bachchan, Jacqueline Fernandez, Sonam Bajwa, Nargis Fakhri, Sanjay Dutt, Jackie Shroff, and Nana Patekar. Released globally on June 6, the film continues to make waves for both its ensemble cast and inventive narrative structure.
IMDb summarizes the story as: “In this murder mystery comedy, several imposters claiming to be the son of a recently deceased billionaire compete for his fortune aboard a luxury cruise ship.”