Box Office Recap: Border 2 Slows Down, Vadh 2 Surprises, Mardaani 3 Struggles Despite Rani's Magic

Box Office Recap: January started on a positive note for Bollywood as Border 2 created ripples in the cinema halls, emerging as the first hit of the year. While Sunny Deol and Varun Dhawan-starrer packed a solid punch on weekends, it suffered a blow on weekdays. The war drama has already crossed the Rs 300-crore mark in India, but it needs to earn at least Rs 350 crore (net) to be declared a superhit.

While Vadh 2 witnessed a four-hundred percent growth compared to the opening day box office collection of its predecessor, the movie couldn't touch the Rs 5-crore mark in its first weekend. YRF's Mardaani 3 made waves with its trailer, but somehow it couldn't strike a chord with the audience. With the snail's pace it is moving, we wonder if the action drama would be able to beat Mardaani 2's lifetime box office collection in India.

Here's a look at the recap of box office performances of Hindi films.

Mardaani 3 Struggles At Box Office- Can It Beat Mardaani 2?

Unless Mardaani 3 pulls off a miracle, it will be difficult for the film to beat the lifetime box office collection of Mardaani 2. With O'Romeo set to release on Friday, Rani Mukerji-starrer will have a tough task. Border 2 is already getting the major chunk of footfalls, and Mardaani 3 needs to buckle up, or else face the music.

Mardaani 3 posted a net box office collection of ₹37.27 crore across 12 days, according to Sacnilk. The film shows stronger business on weekends, with clear softening on weekdays. Overall performance remains steady, driven mainly by the first ten days.

During the second weekend, Mardaani 3 earned ₹1.85 crore on Day 8, ₹3.5 crore on Day 9 and ₹4.25 crore on Day 10. Collections then drop to a rough ₹1.15 crore on Day 11 and ₹0.22 crore on Day 12.

Day	India Net Collection	Change (+/-)
Day 1 [1st Friday]	₹ 4 Cr	-
Day 2 [1st Saturday]	₹ 6.25 Cr	56.25%
Day 3 [1st Sunday]	₹ 7.25 Cr	16.00%
Day 4 [1st Monday]	₹ 2.25 Cr	-68.97%
Day 5 [1st Tuesday]	₹ 2.6 Cr	15.56%
Day 6 [1st Wednesday]	₹ 2.1 Cr	-19.23%
Day 7 [1st Thursday]	₹ 1.85 Cr	-11.90%
Week 1 Collection	₹ 26.3 Cr	-
Day 8 [2nd Friday]	₹ 1.85 Cr	0.00%
Day 9 [2nd Saturday]	₹ 3.5 Cr	89.19%
Day 10 [2nd Sunday]	₹ 4.25 Cr	21.43%
Day 11 [2nd Monday]	₹ 1.15 Cr * rough data	-72.94%
Day 12 [2nd Tuesday]	₹ 0.22 Cr **	-
Total	₹ 37.27 Cr	-

Mardaani 3, therefore, relies heavily on its opening week and second weekend to build its box office. The steep weekday falls, especially on the second Monday and Tuesday, limit further momentum, keeping the 12-day India net at ₹37.27 crore (early estimates). According to Sacnilk, Mardaani 2 had a lifetime box office collection of ₹ 47.35 Cr. Still 10 more crores to go!

Vadh 2 Turns Out To Be A Surprise Package, But It's Too Early To Call It Dark Horse

Considering the budget and number of screens allotted, Vadh 2 recorded a positive start at the Indian box office, earning ₹2.71 crore net across five days. Mind you- these are the early figures, that were obtained from Sacnilk's website. The opening weekend shows steady growth, but collections drop sharply from Monday, raising questions about its hold on weekdays.

The film opened with ₹0.5 crore net on its first Friday in India. Collections increase over the next two days, with Saturday and Sunday bringing in higher figures.

The first Saturday witnessed a significant increase as Vadh 2 minted ₹0.85 crore net. This is a 70 percent rise from Friday, showing better audience turnout. On Sunday, the film added ₹1 crore net, 17.65 percent increase over Saturday.

Day	India Net Collection	Change (+/-)
Day 1 [1st Friday]	₹ 0.5 Cr	-
Day 2 [1st Saturday]	₹ 0.85 Cr	70.00%
Day 3 [1st Sunday]	₹ 1 Cr	17.65%
Day 4 [1st Monday]	₹ 0.31 Cr	-69.00%
Day 5 [1st Tuesday]	₹ 0.05 Cr	-
Total	₹ 2.71 Cr	-

Sanjay Mishra and Neena Gupta's crime thriller has surprised us, and the audience with its performance and riveting. While it has been a surprise package, it's performance in the longer run will determine if it can be tagged as a dark-horse or not.

Border 2 Is Strong On Weekends, But Weekdays- HMMM- OKAYISH

Border 2 continued its strong theatrical run, earning ₹311.75 Cr in 18 days, according to Sacnilk.

The movie started well on the opening day with ₹30 Cr, then grew to ₹36.5 Cr on the second day. Collections jumped further on Day 3 to ₹54.5 Cr, with Day 4 adding ₹59 Cr, all thanks to the Republic Day 2026 holiday. The war drama co-starring Diljit Dosanjh and Ahan Shetty closed the first week with an earning of ₹224.25 Cr net.

Border 2's box office collection in Week 3 remained stable by franchise standards. Day 15 collected ₹2.85 Cr, Day 16 rose to ₹5.25 Cr, and Day 17 touched ₹7.25 Cr. With Day 18 adding ₹2 Cr, the film’s net total stands at ₹311.75 Cr. The numbers have slowed down, and the film needs to perform better during the weekends to catch up, if it wants to cross the Rs 350-crore mark.

Day	India Net Collection	Change (+/-)
Day 1 [1st Friday]	₹ 30 Cr	-
Day 2 [1st Saturday]	₹ 36.5 Cr	21.67%
Day 3 [1st Sunday]	₹ 54.5 Cr	49.32%
Day 4 [1st Monday]	₹ 59 Cr	8.26%
Day 5 [1st Tuesday]	₹ 20 Cr	-66.10%
Day 6 [1st Wednesday]	₹ 13 Cr	-35.00%
Day 7 [1st Thursday]	₹ 11.25 Cr	-13.46%
Week 1 Collection	₹ 224.25 Cr	-
Day 8 [2nd Friday]	₹ 10.75 Cr	-4.44%
Day 9 [2nd Saturday]	₹ 17.75 Cr	65.12%
Day 10 [2nd Sunday]	₹ 22.5 Cr	26.76%
Day 11 [2nd Monday]	₹ 5.75 Cr	-74.44%
Day 12 [2nd Tuesday]	₹ 5.75 Cr	0.00%
Day 13 [2nd Wednesday]	₹ 4.15 Cr	-27.83%
Day 14 [2nd Thursday]	₹ 3.5 Cr	-15.66%
Week 2 Collection	₹ 70.15 Cr	-68.72%
Day 15 [3rd Friday]	₹ 2.85 Cr	-18.57%
Day 16 [3rd Saturday]	₹ 5.25 Cr	84.21%
Day 17 [3rd Sunday]	₹ 7.25 Cr	38.10%
Day 18 [3rd Monday]	₹ 2 Cr	-72.41%
Total	₹ 311.75 Cr	-

Can Border 2 cross the Rs 350-crore mark in India? Share your thoughts with us @Filmibeat.