Ustaad Bhagat Singh Fell Short Of Half Century On Its Opening Day

Ustaad Bhagat Singh, starring Pawan Kalyan and directed by Harish Shankar, released on March 19, 2026, coinciding with Ugadi. The film faced stiff competition from Ranveer Singh's Dhurandhar 2: The Revenge, which dominated especially in cities like Hyderabad, Bengaluru and overseas. 

On its opening day, Ustaad Bhagat Singh collected around ₹31.50 crore net in India, with an overall occupancy of 69% across 4,607 shows. While this is a strong number, expectations were higher, especially considering Telugu mass films usually open above ₹50 crore during festive releases. 

The film saw good turnout in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, where Pawan Kalyan enjoys a loyal fan base, particularly in single screens. However, the numbers didn't reach the expected peak, possibly due to the clash with Dhurandhar 2. In comparison, Pawan Kalyan's previous film, They Call Him OG, opened at ₹63.75 crore net, almost double of Ustaad Bhagat Singh's opening.

Dhurandhar 2's strong wave impacted Ustaad Bhagat Singh's performance, with the Hindi film collecting ₹102.55 crore net on day 1 across India. Despite this, Ustaad Bhagat Singh managed a decent opening  with 48 crore gross worldwide and has a four day extended weekend to improve its total.