Rajkummar Rao, who was last seen on the big screen in ‘Bhool Chuk Maaf’ earlier this year, is back with his latest film ‘Maalik’. The action thriller, directed by Pulkit and featuring Manushi Chhillar, has released today, 11 July 2025.
But looking at its final advance bookings, the film seems to be heading for a quiet start at the box office.Advance booking numbers fail to impressAs reported by Pinkvilla, the makers of ‘Maalik’ opened advance bookings on Wednesday afternoon, hoping for a strong start. By Thursday evening around 5:30 PM, the film had managed to sell about 4,000 tickets in pre-sales. By the time bookings closed, ‘Maalik’ had sold only 6,500 tickets in the top three national cinema chains for its opening day.Industry watchers were expecting the film to end up selling anywhere between 10,000 to 12,000 tickets, but that did not happen. The pace simply did not pick up as hoped, and the numbers remained far lower than predicted.Much lower than Rajkummar’s last releaseCompared to Rajkummar Rao’s previous film ‘Bhool Chuk Maaf’, the ticket sales for ‘Maalik’ are quite low. That film had managed to sell around 30,000 tickets in final advance bookings in the same top cinema chains for its opening day.
This sharp drop shows that audience interest this time is much weaker.Box office opening expected to be modestThe report further explains, with such underwhelming advance bookings, ‘Maalik’ is now expected to open at the box office with collections in the range of Rs 1.5 crore to Rs 2.5 crore on its first day. This means the film’s future will heavily rely on how much the audience enjoys it once they step out of the cinema halls. If viewers start talking positively about it, there is still a chance for the film to pick up pace over the weekend.
Otherwise, it could be a tough road ahead.Faces strong competition from new and old releases‘Maalik’ is also up against stiff competition. It shares its release date with two other films, ‘Aankhon Ki Gustaakhiyan’ and ‘Superman’, both likely to attract their own audience. At the same time, holdover releases like ‘Metro In Dino’, ‘Jurassic World: Rebirth’, and ‘F1: The Movie’ are still running strong in cinemas.Maalik, Superman and Aankhon Ki Gustaakhiyan Movie Review and Release Live Updates: David Corenswet starrer takes the lead over Rajkummar Rao and Vikrant Massey-Shakaya Kapoor filmsA gangster tale led by Rajkummar RaoIn ‘Maalik’, Rajkummar Rao plays the main role of a gangster. The film also features Manushi Chhillar and Medha Shankr, along with Saurabh Shukla, Prosenjit Chatterjee, Huma Qureshi, and Anshumaan Pushkar.