- Akshay Kumar's Housefull 5 crossed Rs 100 crore domestically within days of release.
- Housefull 5 had a reported budget of over Rs 300 crore.
- The film is Akshay Kumar's third release in 2025 after Kesari Chapter 2 and Sky Force.
At the trailer launch of Bade Miyan Chote Miyan last year, Akshay Kumar said there was a time when he had "16 consecutive flops" in his career.
"But I stood there and kept on doing work. I'll still do that," he said at the time.
It took time, but today the actor and his Housefull 5 producers are laughing all the way to the bank. This spells good news not only for Akshay Kumar, who was battling a rough patch for around four years now, but also for the Hindi film industry for whom the rising box office numbers of the latest film is expected to be a shot in the arm.
Housefull 5, the newest chapter in the comedy film franchise Housefull, crossed the Rs 100 crore-mark at the domestic box office on Tuesday. Directed by Tarun Mansukhani of Dostana fame, the thriller comedy released in theatres on June 6.
Housefull 5, which was mounted on a reported budget of Rs 300 crore, has a star-studded cast and two alternate endings (Housefull 5A and Housefull 5B).
The film also stars Riteish Deshmukh, Abhishek Bachchan, Jacqueline Fernandez, Sonam Bajwa, Nargis Fakhri, Sanjay Dutt, Jackie Shroff, Nana Patekar, Chitrangda Singh, Fardeen Khan, Chunky Panday, Johnny Lever, Shreyas Talpade, Nikitin Dheer, Dino Morea, Soundarya Sharma, and Ranjeet.
Housefull 5 is also his third release this year after period dramas Kesari Chapter 2 and Sky Force, which fell just a bit short from becoming box office successes.
According to reports, Sky Force was made on a budget of Rs 150 crore and earned Rs 149 crore. Kesari Chapter 2 raised around Rs 120 crore while it was made on a budget of Rs 150 crore.
Bankrolled by Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment, Housefull 5 is around Rs 200 crore away from being called a bona fide hit.
It's the fifth film in the comedy franchise and it marks the 10 years of the first Housefull film too. And, so the makers left no stone unturned in their efforts to make this film a hit.
Mediapersons were distributed BookMyShow codes worth Rs 500 to watch Housefull 5A along with a companion for a show on the release day (June 6) at a cinema hall of their choice.
Then, multiplex chain PVR INOX said viewers can watch the film at just Rs 149 on June 10 (Tuesday).
Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment came up with yet another offer. Fans who watched one version of Housefull 5 can avail a code to get a ticket for the second version at half the price.
In terms of advance bookings for the release day, Housefull (both versions combined) had earned Rs 14 crore, with the figures from block (reserved) seats amounting to approximately Rs 5 crore, according to trade website Sacnilk.
The movie's reported earnings come as a much-needed respite for Akshay Kumar.
After the success of 2021's Sooryavanshi, one of the biggest hit Hindi films in the post-COVID-19 era which grossed over Rs 290 crore, came a period where many of the actor's promising big-ticket titles across genres, such as Samrat Prithviraj, Ram Setu, and Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, didn't work at the box office.
The only exceptions were 2023's OMG 2, in which Akshay Kumar featured in an extended guest appearance, as well as Stree 2 and Singham Again, both 2024 releases, which starred him in a cameo. Two of his movies Atrangi Re and Cutputtli got a direct-to-digital release on JioHotstar (then Disney+ Hotstar).
The name of Akshay Kumar once bore the promise of a hit film, an idea that has been under scanner and intense media scrutiny for the last four years. The films being poorly reviewed by critics also didn't help.
During the trailer launch of Sky Force earlier this year, Akshay Kumar candidly spoke about his career slump.
"It's not that it has happened for the first time. The best part is you keep on working hard. That is what I tell myself. If anyone talks to me about it, I say the same thing that you have to keep working hard," the actor had said.
Akshay Kumar also said many people have started advising him to do "one film or maximum two films" in a year.
"... But I say if I can work, then why not? I have based my entire career on that. Many people have told me not to do content-based films, but I don't want to leave that. I want to keep working on different kinds of films," he had said at the time.
All in all, if the box office collections of Housefull 5 grow from strength to strength, this film may spell a comeback for the actor.
Also read | Will Housefull 5 Go Houseful At The Box Office?