Housefull 5 vs Thug Life Box Office Collection: Who’s Winning, Akshay Kumar Or Kamal Haasan?

Housefull 5 vs Thug Life box office collection: The clash of the giants is here as Housefull 5, starring Akshay Kumar, and Mani Ratnam's Thug Life, featuring Kamal Haasan, hit theatres simultaneously, sparking a fierce box office battle. Both films have created a buzz, but which one is leading the race?

Housefull 5 Opening and Advance Booking Highlights

Housefull 5 released nationwide today i.e June 6, 2025, with a massive rollout across over 5,000 screens, making it the widest release for any comedy film in India and the largest for the Housefull franchise. The film features a star-studded ensemble including Akshay Kumar, Abhishek Bachchan, Riteish Deshmukh, Sanjay Dutt, and Jacqueline Fernandez.

Trade analysts predicted an impressive opening day collection for Housefull 5, estimating ₹20-25 crore net in India. This positions the film as one of Akshay Kumar's biggest post-pandemic openers, trailing only behind his hits Mission Mangal (₹29.16 crore) and Gold (₹25.25 crore).

According to industry tracker Sacnilk, Housefull 5 has already crossed ₹9 crore in advance bookings, with over 2.7 lakh tickets sold, signaling strong audience interest and promising box office returns.

As of now, Housefull 5 earned around 0.58 Cr India net on its first day for all languages.

Thug Life box office

On the other hand, Mani Ratnam's Thug Life, a gritty courtroom drama starring Kamal Haasan alongside Silambarasan TR, Trisha Krishnan, Ali Fazal, and others, opened on a decent note. Despite releasing on a non-holiday Thursday, the film earned approximately ₹17 crore nett on its first day in India, according to Sacnilk.

However, Thug Life faced significant hurdles, including a ban in Karnataka following Kamal Haasan's controversial remarks about the Kannada language. This ban affected box office potential in one of India's key markets. Furthermore, the film's advance bookings stood at ₹13.89 crore, which is respectable but lower compared to some of Kamal Haasan's previous hits.

For context, Kamal Haasan's recent films, Indian 2 and Vikram, collected ₹25.6 crore and ₹32.05 crore respectively on their opening days, making Thug Life his lowest Day 1 grosser in recent years. Additionally, mixed reviews from critics and audiences suggest Thug Life faces a tough challenge sustaining momentum.

Genre and Audience Appeal

While Housefull 5 delivers a comedy spectacle packed with star power, slapstick humor, and mass appeal, Thug Life is a serious gangster drama that dives into intense themes. The contrasting genres mean they cater to different audience segments, but their simultaneous release has inevitably set them against each other in the box office race.

With Housefull 5 riding high on advance bookings and widespread distribution, Akshay Kumar's comedy is off to a strong start. Meanwhile, Kamal Haasan's Thug Life is battling censorship issues and stiff competition, affecting its box office potential.

As the weekend approaches, it will be interesting to see which film emerges as the true winner in this showdown. For now, Housefull 5 holds the advantage in terms of ticket sales and nationwide reach, but Thug Life could find its footing with positive word of mouth.