Taapsee Pannu’s Assi Box Office First Week Report: Inside the First 7 Days! Survival Or Success?
Trust BoxOfficeWala on Google
Get the most accurate box office data and movie results directly in your search feed.
Mumbai, Friday, 27 February 2026 — The first week of Anubhav Sinha’s gritty courtroom drama Assi has officially wrapped up, and the numbers tell a story that is as complex as the film’s narrative itself. As of Friday morning, 8am IST, the film has clocked a total India Net collection of ₹7.05 Cr against a production budget of ₹25 Cr.
What started as a sluggish opening with just ₹1.2 Cr on Friday has evolved into a fascinating study of audience persistence. Despite a massive 54.72% crash on its first Monday, the film pulled a rabbit out of the hat on its seventh day, showing a rare 15.38% jump on a Thursday to collect ₹0.6 Cr. This brings the India Gross to ₹8.32 Cr, a figure that leaves the industry questioning whether the “slow burn” strategy still works in 2026.
The industry is currently divided into two camps: those who see a disaster and those who see a resilient fighter. For a film centered on a schoolteacher’s fight for justice in Delhi, the stakes were always higher than just the ticket window. If you look at the industry’s recent trend, mid-budget films are being swallowed whole by big-ticket spectacles like Border 2 or Dhurandhar 2.
Yet, Assi is refusing to die quietly. The fan wars on social media have moved past “star power” and are now debating “content urgency”. Are audiences finally rewarding the “Eighty Per Day” reminder that flashes every twenty minutes on the screen? Or is this just a minor blip before the film gets relegated to the digital graveyard?
AssiDay 6
Here is my take: Assi is not fighting against other movies; it is fighting against the audience’s “OTT comfort zone.” We have become a generation that waits for “meaningful” films to drop on streaming platforms while reserving the big screen for mindless explosions. The sudden 15% jump on a Thursday—a day usually reserved for pre-Friday drops—suggests that late-movers are finally stepping out. But I have a direct question for you: Is a 7-crore week enough to justify a 25-crore budget in an era where marketing often costs more than the film itself?
The Week 1 Anatomy: A Day-Wise Breakdown
The evidence lies in the volatile percentages. Assi opened with a modest ₹1.2 Cr on Day 1. For a Taapsee Pannu starrer, this was underwhelming compared to her previous hits like Thappad or Mission Mangal. However, Saturday saw a healthy 37.5% jump, taking the collection to ₹1.65 Cr. This is where the curiosity gap kicked in. Word of mouth started spreading about Kani Kusruti’s powerhouse performance and the unsettling “red screen” reminders.
Assi Box Office Collection Breakdown
| Day | Date | India Net (₹ Cr) | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 01 | 20/02/2026 | 1.2 Cr | - |
| Day 02 | 21/02/2026 | 1.65 Cr | +37.5% |
| Day 03 | 22/02/2026 | 1.59 Cr | -3.64% |
| Day 04 | 23/02/2026 | 0.72 Cr | -54.72% |
| Day 05 | 24/02/2026 | 0.77 Cr | +6.94% |
| Day 06 | 25/02/2026 | 0.52 Cr | -32.47% |
| Day 07 | 26/02/2026 | 0.6 Cr | +15.38% |
| TOTAL COLLECTION | - | ₹7.05 Cr | - |
Sunday remained flat at ₹1.59 Cr, failing to show the typical weekend peak. Then came the Monday “heart attack.” A 54.72% drop is usually the final nail in the coffin. But look at Day 5—a 6.94% increase. And then the Day 7 anomaly. Most films would be gasping for air by their first Thursday, yet Assi climbed from ₹0.52 Cr to ₹0.6 Cr. This isn’t bulk booking; this is localized demand in circuits like Delhi-NCR and Mumbai where the “Anubhav Sinha brand” of social interrogation still holds weight.
Impact on Cast and Crew: The ‘Taapsee’ Factor
For Taapsee Pannu, Assi is a moral victory but a commercial tightrope. She has famously criticized the “fake hype” of Bollywood PR, and these numbers are as real as they get. While she took a backseat to let Kani Kusruti’s “Parima” anchor the emotional trauma, her star wattage is what kept the show count at 1,716 screens. For director Anubhav Sinha, this is his third collaboration with Taapsee after Mulk and Thappad. He is clearly not making films for the “₹100 Crore Club.” He is making films for the “₹100 Minute Impact”.
However, the producer’s ledger looks different. With a budget of ₹25 Cr and a domestic net of ₹7.05 Cr, the film has recovered only about 28% of its cost through theatrical runs so far. The lack of an “Overseas” collection in the first week also hurts the bottom line. The cast, including Manoj Pahwa, Kumud Mishra, and Revathy, delivered “4.0 rating” performances, but “great acting” doesn’t always pay the bills.
The Road Ahead: Can Week 2 Save The Sinking Ship?
As we look forward to the second weekend, Assi faces a lethal threat from fresh releases like The Kerala Story 2. To even reach its “break-even” point, the film needs a second-week miracle. The Day 7 jump of 15.38% is the only flickering candle in the dark. It indicates that the movie is finding its rhythm in Tier-1 multiplexes where “didactic” and “introspective” storytelling is preferred over “fluff”.
The producers will now look toward non-theatrical revenues. In 2026, digital rights contribute nearly 75% of non-theatrical revenue. If a streamer like JioHotstar or Zee5 picks this up for its “socially conscious” catalog, the budget might be recovered. But for the theatrical ecosystem, Assi remains a cautionary tale. It tells us that sincerity is back, but urgency is missing.
Personally, I see this as a mixed bag. Commercially, it’s struggling. But as a “Box Office Analyst” with years of seeing films crash to zero on Mondays, seeing a Thursday jump is a sign of life. Assi is a “heavy” watch—it literally screams at you with red screens. That kind of intensity usually kills repeat value, but it drives conversation. This is “Good News” for cinema quality, but “Bad News” for the theatrical business model of mid-budget films.
Question For You: Would you prefer to watch a hard-hitting film like Assi in a theater with an audience, or would you rather wait for its OTT release to “comfortably” absorb the message? Let me know in the comments!
🔥 Latest Box Office News
About the Author
Join BoxOfficeWala
Get Box Office Updates Directly on Whatsapp from Your Personal Box Office Insider
