Ajay Devgn’s latest film, ‘De De Pyaar De 2’, seems to be losing steam at the box office, with its weekend figures falling noticeably behind those of the first film. Even with a wider release, the sequel’s initial week didn’t manage to outperform its forerunner. Industry insiders blame a weaker plot and lukewarm audience reactions for the noticeable underperformance.
Ajay Devgn’s De De Pyaar De 2, one of the most anticipated sequels of the year, has officially fallen behind the performance of its predecessor at the box office. While expectations were high especially given the success and cult following of De De Pyaar De (2019) the sequel has not been able to surpass the 2nd weekend after failing to cross 1st week collections as well. Part 2’s numbers indicate a noticeable gap in momentum and audience retention compared to Part 1.Part 2 had added star power of R Madhavan, Meezaan Jafri, Jaaved Jaaferi and Gautami Kapoor. The original De De Pyaar De had demonstrated impressive stability post its opening week, collecting Rs 14.04 crore in its second weekend. The film benefited from strong word-of-mouth, its refreshing theme, and the chemistry between Ajay Devgn, Tabu and Rakul Preet Singh. In comparison, De De Pyaar De 2 has managed Rs 10.75 crore in its 2nd weekend, marking a shortfall of over Rs 3.29 crore from Part 1. The drop was expected as its week 1 collection was also lower than the original. But there is a small glimmer of hope for the film as it was able to retain the 20 % screens which it was supposed to give away to new releases like 120 Bahahudr and Mastiii 4 but thanks to not so great response to Mastiii 4 , the screen remained with De De Pyaar De 2. Part 2’s 2nd weekend numbers include Rs 2.25 crore on Friday, Rs 4 crore on Saturday, and Rs 4.50 crore on Sunday (early estimates). While the Saturday jump of 77.78% is encouraging, the overall weekend total still falls short of the benchmark set six years ago.The story is similar when comparing the first-week collections. The original De De Pyaar De collected a strong Rs 61.05 crore in Week 1, establishing a solid base for its long run, the film went on to collect over Rs 100 crore at the box office. In contrast, the sequel has collected Rs 51.10 crore in its first week,nearly Rs 10 crore lower, despite benefiting from a larger release size and more screens. The total collection of part 2 stands at Rs 61.85 crore.Trade experts believe the primary reasons for the gap include a less engaging storyline, comparisons with the original’s freshness, and mixed word-of-mouth that prevented Part 2 from achieving the same repeat value as Part 1. At current pace the film is likely to end its theatrical run with Rs 80 crore collection.
