January's Indian box office, in six numbers

India's January 2026 box office was decided in December, if not the previous year. Dhurandhar, released at the end of 2025, was still trading on day 46 in January, and every new release was measured against it. The summaries below draw on reporting by TV9 English, India TV, News9Live, The Free Press Journal and The Indian Express, most of which draw their figures from the industry tracker Sacnilk. Where those outlets disagree, the disagreement is reported rather than resolved.

1. 1.Dhurandhar: Rs 1,289 crore to Rs 1,290 crore worldwide, and Rs 826.50 crore in India by day 46.
2. 2.The Raja Saab: Rs 133.52 crore in India by January 16, eight days after its January 9 release.
3. 3.Ikkis: Rs 41.25 crore worldwide, of which Rs 31.5 crore net in India.
4. 4.Rahu Ketu: Rs 4.80 crore after four days, from Rs 1.75 crore on day three and about Rs 4 lakh on day four.
5. 5.Happy Patel: Khatarnak Jasoos: Rs 4.75 crore after four days, with a Rs 1.25 crore net opening.
6. 6.Border 2: released January 23, 2026, the event that ended the Sankranti window for the January 16 releases.

The holiday that went to Tamil cinema

The Raja Saab, which opened on January 9, was the release that actually contested the holiday. Its India total reached Rs 138.69 crore by January 18, while two Hindi films sharing the January 16 slot could not get past their first weekend. The pattern repeated in the opening numbers: Rahu Ketu took Rs 5.84 crore net in India on day one, and Happy Patel took Rs 1.25 crore net across 1,689 shows at 9.57% occupancy, having been allotted a slightly smaller show count than Rahu Ketu's 1,764.

Dhurandhar's longevity is the number that makes January odd. It took about Rs 1 crore on day 43 and Rs 1.40 crore on day 46, and it was still being discussed in terms of a second weekend release in March. A seventh-week performer of that size removes the usual January opening window entirely, which is the practical cost the January 16 releases paid.

There is also a number that is not a number. Reported totals for Dhurandhar ranged from Rs 1,267.65 crore worldwide on January 19 to Rs 1,290.3 crore on January 23, and the India net figure moved between Rs 817.60 crore and Rs 829.4 crore over the same stretch. The differences come from what each outlet counted, gross or net, and when. Treat any single January total as a snapshot rather than a final figure.