The season of romance has officially begun in cinemas, with multiple love-themed films releasing back-to-back. This weekend, two new titles hit theaters simultaneously—Dhanush’s Tere Ishq Mein and Vijay Varma–Fatima Sana Shaikh’s Gustaakh Ishq—resulting in a direct box-office clash.

Throughout 2025, several big films have clashed at the ticket window, sometimes South vs Bollywood and sometimes even South vs South. As the year nears its end, these two romance dramas mark yet another major faceoff. But the audience response has turned out to be drastically different for both.

Gustakh Ishq: A Weak Start

Vijay Varma’s Gustaakh Ishq has had a disappointing opening. As per early reports, the film earned just ₹50 lakh on Day 1, failing to even touch the ₹1 crore mark.
With an estimated budget of ₹25 crore, the film will find it difficult to recover its costs unless business picks up sharply over the weekend.

Tere Ishq Mein: A Strong Opening

On the other hand, Dhanush’s Tere Ishq Mein, made on a much bigger budget of around ₹80 crore, debuted strongly with ₹16.50 crore on its opening day.
The numbers bring relief for the makers, and early trade estimates suggest that the film may recover half its budget by the end of its first weekend.

Box Office Comparison Table