Inside the First Week: What Ishqan De Lekhe’s Seven-Day Numbers Reveal About Audience Demand
Ludhiana, March 13, 2026. The first week of ‘Ishqan De Lekhe’ has wrapped up, and the verdict is clear—Gurnam Bhullar’s latest romantic offering is battling a tough tide at the box office with a total India Net of ₹4.05 crore against a ₹10 crore budget.
While the film showed a promising 50% jump on its first Saturday and maintained a steady trend through the weekend, the massive 43% drop on Monday signaled trouble before a surprising mid-week surge on Tuesday offered a glimmer of hope. Currently, the film stands at a worldwide gross of ₹4.76 crore, leaving it with a mountain to climb in its second week to reach the break-even point.
This isn’t just another romantic drama; it’s the high-stakes debut of Isha Malviya in Punjabi cinema, directed by Manvir Brar. The industry was looking at this film to break the dry spell for Punjabi cinema in 2026, and early word-of-mouth suggests the music and performances are hitting the right notes. But here’s the kicker: despite a high 8.8 rating on audience platforms, the actual ticket sales tell a story of “selective interest” rather than “mass hysteria”.
Is the audience becoming too picky with traditional romance, or is the 2-hour-23-minute runtime making them think twice before stepping into the theater?
The reality of the current cinema mood is that “decent” isn’t enough anymore.
We are seeing a pattern where films with high emotional depth are getting lost in the “OTT-wait” trap unless there is an urgent reason to visit the big screen. For ‘Ishqan De Lekhe’, the heavy emotional graph and the tragic undertones might be attracting a loyal fan base, but the wider audience seems to be holding back.
Are we witnessing the end of the era where a soulful soundtrack and a popular face could guarantee a hit, or is it simply a case of poor timing in a crowded March schedule?
Ishqan De LekheDay 101
The Seven-Day Grind: Breakdown of the Numbers
The film opened on Friday, March 6, with a modest ₹0.40 crore India Net. It wasn’t a “historic” start, but it was an average opener that gave the team hope for a weekend turnaround. Saturday saw the expected growth, jumping to ₹0.60 crore (a 50% increase), followed by a Sunday peak of ₹0.80 crore. At this point, the film had managed to recover roughly 17% of its budget.
However, the Monday test was brutal. The collections fell to ₹0.45 crore. While a drop is standard, a 43.75% decline for a mid-budget film that already started low is often a fatal blow. Then came the “Tuesday Twist.” In a rare occurrence, the film jumped 60% on its fifth day, raking in ₹0.72 crore—actually outperforming its first Saturday. This indicates that the positive reviews from the weekend finally started converting into footfalls by Tuesday.
Ishqan De Lekhe Territory and Occupancy: Where the Heart Beats
The heart of the collection remains firmly in the Punjab and Delhi-NCR circuits.
In cities like Chandigarh and Ludhiana, the film has seen its highest occupancy, particularly in evening shows. As of now, the total ticket sales in India stand at approximately 2.02 lakhs, with an estimated average ticket price (ATP) of ₹200. When you add the estimated 0.30 lakh overseas footfalls, the global reach touches 2.33 lakhs.
Ishqan De Lekhe Box Office Collection Breakdown
| Day | Date | India Net (₹ Cr) | India Gross (₹ Cr) | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day 01 | 06/03/2026 | 0.4 Cr | 0.47 Cr | - |
| Day 02 | 07/03/2026 | 0.6 Cr | 0.7 Cr | +50% |
| Day 03 | 08/03/2026 | 0.8 Cr | 0.94 Cr | +33.33% |
| Day 04 | 09/03/2026 | 0.45 Cr | 0.53 Cr | -43.75% |
| Day 05 | 10/03/2026 | 0.72 Cr | 0.85 Cr | +60% |
| Day 06 | 11/03/2026 | 0.51 Cr | 0.6 Cr | -29.17% |
| Day 07 | 12/03/2026 | 0.55 Cr | 0.64 Cr | +7.84% |
| TOTAL COLLECTION | - | ₹4.03 Cr | ₹4.73 Cr | - |
The steady hold on Wednesday and Thursday (collecting ₹0.51 Cr and ₹0.57 Cr respectively) shows that the film hasn’t crashed yet. It is showing more resilience than a typical “disaster” film, but it’s still far from being labeled a success.
Future Outlook and Verdict
As we enter the second week, ‘Ishqan De Lekhe’ faces a precarious journey. The first-week total of ₹4.05 crore India Net is exactly 40.5% of its production cost. For a film to be a “Hit,” it generally needs to earn at least 1.5x to 2x of its budget from theatrical shares. With the current trajectory, the lifetime collection is looking to land somewhere between ₹7 crore and ₹9 crore unless a massive second-weekend surge occurs.
The chemistry between Gurnam Bhullar and Isha Malviya has been the primary draw. While Bhullar maintains his “Reliable Romantic Star” status, Isha Malviya has proven she can carry a film on her shoulders in the Punjabi industry. The “soulful” music has helped maintain social media buzz, but the trade is now watching the second-week screen count closely. If the film can survive the new releases this Friday, it might just limp across the finish line with a respectable total.
‘Ishqan De Lekhe’ is a classic case of a good film caught in a mediocre market. The Tuesday jump proves there is an audience for clean, emotional storytelling, but the initial low awareness hurt its chances of becoming a breakout hit. For Gurnam Bhullar, it’s a steady addition to his filmography, but for the producers, the slow recovery is a cause for concern. It’s a “wait-and-watch” scenario, but for now, it’s trending toward an “Average” to “Below Average” verdict.
Do you think Punjabi cinema needs to move away from tragic romances to pull back the masses into theaters?
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About the Author
Nitesh Mishra
— Business Analyst (Since 2017)
As a Movie buff with years of experience in film blogging, writing and box office analysis, I specialise in delivering accurate box office insights, movie updates OTT deals and Business Insights. [X, Instagram, Reddit, Threds]