Ikkis box office Day 1: Agastya Nanda’s war drama earns ₹7 crore, beats trade projections
Mumbai: Ikkis, the latest war drama directed by Sriram Raghavan, has delivered a stronger-than-expected opening at the box office, earning an estimated ₹7 crore net in India on its first day, Hindustan Times reported on Friday.
The film, starring Agastya Nanda, opened in theatres on January 1 across nearly 4,000 screens nationwide. Trade analysts had earlier projected a modest opening of ₹2–2.5 crore, especially given stiff competition from Dhurandhar, which continues to perform strongly at the box office.
Despite these expectations, Ikkis exceeded projections by nearly three times, helped largely by positive word of mouth. As per the report, the film had around 12% occupancy in the morning shows across the country, which jumped to 35% by afternoon, and 47% in the evening, indicating growing audience interest as the day progressed.
While Dhurandhar dominated the day with a reported ₹15 crore collection, trade observers note that Ikkis holding its ground amid such competition is a promising sign, particularly for its performance over the extended opening weekend.
Ikkis is based on the life of Arun Khetarpal, the youngest recipient of India’s highest gallantry award, the Param Vir Chakra. The film chronicles Khetarpal’s exploits and bravery during the 1971 India-Pakistan War. Agastya plays Khetarpal in the film.
While screen legend Dharmendra appears as his father in his final performance, Dharmendra died a little over a month before the film’s release. Ikkis is also among the final films of the late Asrani, who also died late last year. The film also stars Jaideep Ahlawat and Deepak Dobriyal.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
