Ajay Devgn, Rakul Preet Singh, R Madhavan starrer ‘De De Pyaar De 2’ has released in theatres on Friday, November 14. The film had a decent opening of around Rs 8.75 crore on day 1 which is good for a romcom especially post pandemic. One has not seen many romcoms do well post the pandemic, but of course, it was ‘Saiyaara’ which broke records, created history. ‘Saiyaara’ was a hardcore, intense love story so it comes under the romance genre and while it tops this list of all time, as far as romcoms are concerned, ‘De De Pyaar De’ has now got the fourth position in the list of romcoms with highest opening numbers in the post pandemic era. Though, even these numbers are not huge, but they are considered decent during these times. The rom-com space has been having a difficult run, with most films struggling to deliver strong initials. Even among the better performers, the picture isn’t too bright—if the holiday advantage is removed from ‘Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar’, its opening also settles around the 10 crore nett mark, according to Box Office India. Among the titles listed, the only truly encouraging start has been ‘Bad Newz’, and that was largely propelled by a HIT track like ‘Tauba’ and the hook step, that boosted its momentum—underlining exactly what this genre now desperately needs. This slowdown isn’t entirely new; rom-coms were facing resistance even before the pandemic, though the budgets back then were more modest. In this context, the 8 crore-plus start for ‘De De Pyaar De 2’ might seem modest on paper, but it actually stands tall when measured against the genre’s current performance levels. Still, the trend is clear: rom-coms with major stars are becoming less feasible because the economics simply don’t add up. The genre’s survival may depend on newcomers who bring fresh energy and keep costs under control. Meanwhile, star-led love stories with a stronger dramatic core can still work—but leaning too heavily into comedy isn’t yielding the desired results.Another issue is the limited geographic pull. These films are now largely driven by the NCR region, unless supported by external factors. Key markets like Mumbai and the Eastern circuits aren’t stepping in, which sharply limits overall potential.Thus, ‘De De Pyaar De’ now comes at the fourth position in this list. On top stands ‘Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar’, followed by ‘Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari’ on second position and ‘Bad Newz’ at number three spot. At number five position is ‘Param Sundari’.
