Vivek Agnihotri’s ‘The Bengal Files’ faced a challenging box office debut, earning Rs 6.65 crore in its opening weekend amidst controversy and competition from ‘Baaghi 4’ and ‘The Conjuring: Last Rites’. Agnihotri alleges an “unofficial ban” in West Bengal due to political pressure, while the Trinamool Congress dismisses the film as propaganda.
Vivek Agnihotri’s much-discussed film ‘The Bengal Files’, which opened in cinemas on September 5, 2025, ended its first weekend with modest earnings despite a wave of controversy and a direct box office clash with Tiger Shroff’s ‘Baaghi 4’.
Box office performance
According to early estimates from industry tracker Sacnilk, the political drama collected Rs 1.75 crore on Friday and Rs 2.25 crore on Saturday. On Sunday, the film saw a slight uptick, bringing in around Rs 2.75 crore. With this, its three-day total reached Rs 6.65 crore. While the growth is marginal, it suggests that positive word of mouth may help the film build momentum in the coming days.Interestingly, ‘The Bengal Files’ managed a rise on Sunday even as bigger releases like ‘Baaghi 4’ and Hollywood horror ‘The Conjuring: Last Rites’ reported dips in their collections. The film recorded an overall Hindi occupancy of 27.08% on Day 3, with evening and night shows performing better at nearly 37% occupancy.
Competition at the box office
Despite the improvement, the film continues to trail behind ‘Baaghi 4’, which raked in Rs 31 crore on its debut weekend and ‘The Conjuring: Last Rites’ emerged as the weekend’s biggest winner, crossing the Rs 50 crore mark in India.
Controversy over screenings
Adding to its struggles, ‘The Bengal Files’ has faced alleged resistance in parts of West Bengal. Director Agnihotri claimed in a video message that the film is being subjected to an “unofficial ban” due to political pressure, appealing to audiences to stand by the film. “My appeal to all of you. And specially to the Bengali community. Stand with us in our fight to release #TheBengalFiles in Bengal,” he said in a video. In another post, Agnihotri said, “There was a time when Tagore dreamt of a Bengal without fear. In today’s Bengal, the government has banned #TheBengalFiles, the boldest film ever made on Hindu genocide. Please watch The Bengal Files in theaters as your protest.”Actor-producer Pallavi Joshi also addressed an open letter to President Droupadi Murmu, alleging that theatre owners were threatened into not screening the film.The ruling Trinamool Congress, however, dismissed these claims, with spokesperson Kunal Ghosh accusing Agnihotri of using the film as “propaganda” to serve a political agenda.
About the film
‘The Bengal Files’ is the concluding chapter of Agnihotri’s Files Trilogy, following ‘The Kashmir Files’ and ‘The Vaccine War’. Set against the backdrop of the 1946 Direct Action Day violence and the Noakhali riots, the film revisits one of Bengal’s darkest chapters. The film stars Mithun Chakraborty, Anupam Kher, Pallavi Joshi, Saswata Chatterjee, Darshan Kumarr, and Sourav Das, in lead roles. Go to Source
