Box Office: Dhanush's NEEK Holds Steady at Low Level on First Monday

Dhanush’s NEEK fights a tough battle with Pradeep Ranganathan led Dragon; hopes for a boost with Maha Shivaratri holiday approaching.

By Shanaz Syed

Updated on Feb 24, 2025 | 10:26 PM IST | 8.8K

Dhanush’s Nilavuku En Mel Ennadi Kobam is performing decently against a big movie like Dragon. (Credit: Wunderbar Films Instagram)

Superstar Dhanush’s third directorial venture Nilavuku En Mel Ennadi Kobam is facing an uphill battle at the box office. After a simple opening weekend, the film saw a slight dip in collections on its first Monday, managing to add ₹60 lakh to its tally. This takes its total gross to just over ₹5 crore in Tamil Nadu.

Steady Start, Slow Riding

As per box office reports, the occupancy rates in the morning and afternoon were low, but the expected evening and night show occupancies look reasonable for a new star cast film. Instead of plummeting and succumbing to tough competion, NEEK is holding steadily at a low levels. After collecting ₹1.35 crore on its opening day, the coming-of-age romantic comedy showed some promise by adding ₹1.65 crore on Day 2 and ₹1.50 crore on Day 3. Monday’s ₹60 lakh figure signals that the movie may not have a breakout run, similar to films like Lubber Pandhu.

Day	Gross TN Box Office
1	Rs 1.35 crore
2	Rs 1.65 crore
3	Rs 1.50 crore
4	Rs 60 Lakh
Total	Rs 5.1 crore

Dragon’s Wave Overshadows NEEK

One of the biggest challenges for Dhanush's NEEK which features impressive music from GV Prakash Kumar including the 'Golden Sparrow' song has been its clash with Pradeep Ranganathan's Dragon, which continues to dominate theaters across Tamil Nadu. While NEEK received a fair amount of positive word-of-mouth, it hasn’t been enough to pull audiences away from Pradeep Ranganathan’s high-energy entertainer.

While cricket fever over the India vs Pakistan match on Sunday hurt its weekend potential, same is not the case on Monday as a match between New Zealand and Bangladesh is not too big for Indian viewers. Now, with Dragon maintaining a strong grip, NEEK needs a serious jump in collections on the upcoming public holidays to avoid being labelled as an average performer at the box office.

Shivaratri Could Offer Some Respite

With the Maha Shivaratri holiday coming up in two days, there’s still a chance for NEEK to regain some ground. Family audiences might turn up for the film during the holiday period, potentially giving it a much-needed boost. However, it’s not just about a temporary boost— NEEK needs sustained growth beyond the holiday to attain bigger numbers.