Varun Dhawan and Janhvi Kapoor’s romantic comedy Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari has wrapped its extended first week with underwhelming numbers, collecting ₹41.50 crore in 8 days. Despite initial promotional buzz and the star power of two popular young actors, the Dharma Productions film is heading toward flop territory—a troubling sign for mid-budget rom-coms in the post-pandemic era.
Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari Week One Performance: The Numbers Don’t Lie
| Day | Collection | Day Type |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 (Friday) | ₹9.25 crore | Opening Day |
| Day 2 (Saturday) | ₹5.50 crore | Weekend Drop |
| Day 3 (Sunday) | ₹7.50 crore | Weekend |
| Day 4 (Monday) | ₹8.00 crore | Holiday Boost |
| Day 5 (Tuesday) | ₹3.15 crore | First Weekday |
| Day 6 (Wednesday) | ₹3.50 crore | BOGO Impact |
| Day 7 (Thursday) | ₹2.60 crore | Declining |
| Day 8 (Friday) | ₹1.75-2.00 crore | Week Two Entry |
| Total (8 Days) | ₹41.50 crore | Extended Week |
What Went Wrong?
The Opening Weekend Collapse
The film’s fate was sealed during its opening weekend when it failed to capitalize on Varun Dhawan’s star power. A ₹9.25 crore opening, while decent, immediately dropped to ₹5.50 crore on Saturday—a worrying 40% decline that indicated weak word-of-mouth.
Though Sunday recovered slightly (₹7.50 crore) and Monday benefited from a holiday (₹8.00 crore), the downward trajectory was clear. By Day 8, collections had plummeted to just ₹1.75-2 crore, signaling that audience interest had evaporated.
BOGO Offers: A Band-Aid Solution
The film temporarily stabilized midweek thanks to Buy-One-Get-One offers at multiplexes, which artificially inflated footfalls. However, even these promotional tactics are losing steam, with collections dipping dangerously low by the end of Week 1.
While the film is projected to cross ₹50 crore eventually, this won’t salvage its commercial fate. For a star-driven romantic comedy from Dharma Productions, anything below ₹75-80 crore is considered disappointing.
The Bigger Picture: Why Mid-Budget Rom-Coms Are Struggling
Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari isn’t an isolated failure—it’s symptomatic of a larger crisis facing mid-scale films in Indian cinema.
The OTT Window Problem
Post-pandemic, the eight-week theatrical window before OTT release has become a double-edged sword. While intended to protect theatrical revenue, it’s actually hurting mid-budget films. Audiences know they can simply wait two months to watch these movies comfortably at home, making theatrical trips feel unnecessary.
As industry analysts note, this window acts as “little more than a gate on an open fence.” Big event films with massive anticipation can still overcome this hurdle, but rom-coms and family dramas without spectacle elements are being mentally categorized as “OTT films” by audiences.
The Erosion of Theatrical Base
Streaming platforms have fundamentally changed viewing habits, especially for certain genres. Romantic comedies, family dramas, and mid-budget thrillers—once theatrical staples—now struggle to justify the cinema experience when audiences can watch them at home with superior comfort and lower costs.
Even films that receive good appreciation post-release aren’t scoring as high as they would have pre-pandemic. Jolly LLB 3 and Sitaare Zameen Par exemplify this trend—decent films that underperformed relative to expectations.
What Could Have Helped?
Decent But Not Exceptional Marketing
Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari had a pretty good trailer and acceptable songs. In pre-2020 times, this would’ve guaranteed a respectable opening. Today, it’s insufficient to overcome the “wait for OTT” mentality.
The film needed either:
- Exceptional viral buzz (which it lacked)
- Strong critical acclaim (reviews were mixed)
- Event film positioning (it remained a simple rom-com)
The Six-Month Window Solution
Industry experts suggest extending the OTT window to six months might make waiting inconvenient enough to drive theatrical attendance. Currently, eight weeks feels manageable to most audiences, especially for non-event films.
Varun Dhawan’s Box Office Journey
For Varun Dhawan, this represents another setback following mixed results in recent years. Once considered a reliable box office draw for romantic comedies and action films, Dhawan needs a major hit to reassert his commercial viability.
Janhvi Kapoor, meanwhile, continues her inconsistent theatrical run, with only select films performing well. TechnoSports analyzes how digital platforms are reshaping star power dynamics.
Projected Finale: ₹50 Crore and Out
Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari will likely limp past ₹50 crore before concluding its theatrical run. While not a complete disaster, it’ll be classified as a flop considering production costs, marketing expenses, and the star salaries involved.
The film joins a growing list of well-made mid-budget films that couldn’t find theatrical audiences, raising serious questions about the future viability of certain genres in cinemas.
The Future of Romantic Comedies
Does this mean romantic comedies are dead theatrically? Not necessarily—but they need reinvention. Future rom-coms must either:
- Embrace spectacle and scale (making them event films)
- Accept smaller budgets aligned with realistic OTT-first expectations
- Offer unique theatrical experiences impossible to replicate at home
Generic, pleasant rom-coms like Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari—no matter how well-made—will continue struggling until the theatrical-OTT ecosystem evolves.
Final Verdict
Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari earned ₹41.50 crore in its first week, heading toward a ₹50+ crore finish that won’t save it from flop status. The film’s underperformance reflects broader industry challenges rather than just individual creative failures, signaling that the playbook for mid-budget theatrical releases needs urgent rewriting.
FAQs
Q1: Why did Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari fail despite having popular stars like Varun Dhawan and Janhvi Kapoor?
Star power alone no longer guarantees box office success in the post-pandemic era. Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari suffered from multiple factors: weak word-of-mouth after opening day dampened repeat viewings, the film’s genre (romantic comedy) is particularly vulnerable to the “wait for OTT” mentality since audiences don’t feel they’re missing a theatrical experience, and mixed critical reviews prevented positive buzz. Additionally, the eight-week OTT window made waiting feel convenient for a film that wasn’t positioned as an event. Varun Dhawan’s recent inconsistent track record also meant audiences were more cautious about theatrical commitments. Even the BOGO offers that temporarily boosted midweek numbers couldn’t sustain momentum, proving that promotional gimmicks can’t replace genuine audience interest. The film needed either exceptional content that created viral buzz or spectacle elements that demanded big-screen viewing—it offered neither.
Q2: How does the ₹41.50 crore collection compare to typical Varun Dhawan rom-com performances?
The ₹41.50 crore eight-day total is significantly below Varun Dhawan’s rom-com standards. His earlier romantic comedies like Badrinath Ki Dulhania (2017) earned ₹110+ crore, Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania (2014) collected ₹75+ crore, and even Bhediya (2022), which wasn’t a pure rom-com, earned ₹60+ crore. Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari is tracking toward a ₹50-55 crore finish, making it one of Dhawan’s lowest-performing theatrical releases. This decline isn’t unique to Dhawan—it reflects the genre’s overall struggle post-pandemic. Mid-budget rom-coms that would’ve easily crossed ₹75-100 crore pre-2020 are now struggling to reach ₹50 crore. The film’s performance indicates that audiences now reserve theatrical visits for event films, franchise entries, or highly acclaimed content, while treating pleasant but unremarkable rom-coms as OTT-first content regardless of star power.
