Akshay Kumar’s new comedy Welcome To The Jungle hit theatres on June 26, 2026, and made a solid start at the box office. The film collected ₹29 crore gross worldwide on its opening day, giving the franchise a strong comeback after a decade. Despite mixed reviews from critics and audiences, the movie managed to pull in crowds, especially during the night shows, which recorded an impressive occupancy of 39.15%.
The third instalment of the popular Welcome series had generated significant buzz before release due to its massive ensemble cast and the nostalgia attached to the franchise. The film’s opening day numbers show that the comedy genre still has a strong pull at the box office. Welcome To The Jungle opened with ₹15 crore net in India on Friday, and when combined with the ₹3.75 crore earned from Thursday paid previews, the total India net collection reached ₹18.75 crore. The India gross collection stands at ₹22.50 crore, while overseas markets contributed ₹6.50 crore, pushing the worldwide gross to ₹29 crore.
Welcome To The Jungle Beats Bhooth Bangla and Jolly LLB 3 Openings
The film performed better than Akshay Kumar’s recent releases. Bhooth Bangla, which came out three months ago, had collected ₹12.25 crore net on its opening day, with its total including previews reaching ₹16 crore. Jolly LLB 3 had opened with ₹12.50 crore. Welcome To The Jungle surpassed both these films comfortably with its ₹18.75 crore India net collection including previews.
The film also outperformed Shahid Kapoor, Rashmika Mandanna, and Kriti Sanon’s Cocktail 2, which had grossed ₹23.45 crore worldwide on its opening day. However, Welcome To The Jungle could not match the numbers of the bigger multi-starrer Housefull 5 from 2025, which had opened at ₹24.35 crore net in India. On the global front, it also fell behind Housefull 5, which had earned ₹39.80 crore worldwide on day one.
The Third Biggest Bollywood Opening of 2026 So Far
With its ₹29 crore worldwide opening, Welcome To The Jungle has secured the third-biggest Bollywood opening of the year so far. The top two spots are held by Border 2 with ₹43.50 crore and Dhurandhar: The Revenge with ₹238.60 crore worldwide on their opening days. The film’s opening day performance places it ahead of several other notable releases and shows that Akshay Kumar’s comedy films still have a dedicated audience base.
Franchise History and Comparison with Previous Welcome Films
The Welcome franchise has a long history at the box office. The original Welcome released in 2007 and opened with just ₹3.35 crore on its first day. That film eventually became a major success, earning approximately ₹117.91 crore worldwide during its lifetime run. The 2015 sequel Welcome Back opened with ₹14.4 crore net and went on to collect ₹168.7 crore globally.
Welcome To The Jungle has recorded the highest unadjusted opening day in the Welcome series, surpassing Welcome Back’s ₹14.35 crore net opening. Its global opening of ₹29 crore is also significantly higher than Welcome Back’s ₹22.35 crore worldwide opening. This improvement is attributed to wider international releases and higher ticket prices in overseas markets.
About the Film and Its Massive Cast
Directed by Ahmed Khan and written by Neeraj Vora, Welcome To The Jungle is produced by Firoz Nadiadwala, Rakesh Dang, and Vedant Vikaas Baali under Base Industries Group, Cape of Good Films, and Seeta Films. The film is loosely based on the Hollywood satirical comedy Tropic Thunder, which starred Robert Downey Jr..
The film features a massive ensemble cast of over 34 actors, including Akshay Kumar in a double role, alongside Suniel Shetty, Paresh Rawal, Arshad Warsi, Raveena Tandon, Disha Patani, Jacqueline Fernandez, Lara Dutta, Tusshar Kapoor, Shreyas Talpade, Aftab Shivdasani, Jackie Shroff, Johnny Lever, Rajpal Yadav, Krushna Abhishek, Kiku Sharda, and veteran actors Farida Jalal and Kiran Kumar, whose performances were widely appreciated by audiences. The film was released in theatres on June 26, 2026.
Also Read:
Mixed Audience Response and Day 2 Performance
Audience feedback on social media suggests that while viewers enjoyed the humour in the theatres, many felt the content lacked originality. Some viewers mentioned that the makers relied heavily on jokes and character references from previous films in the franchise, with little beyond a handful of gags to keep audiences entertained. However, the performances of veteran actors Farida Jalal and Kiran Kumar were praised by audiences.
On Day 2 (Saturday), the film showed a positive trend. According to early estimates, as of 11 AM on Saturday, Welcome To The Jungle collected around ₹2.81 crore nett across India, compared to ₹2.36 crore by the same time on Friday. This suggests that the weekend advantage is beginning to reflect in its numbers. The early afternoon shows also showed an expected jump, with occupancy rising to around 15%. The real test now lies in whether the film can register a solid jump from evening onwards and push its Day 2 total comfortably above its opening day collections. NCR, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh are leading the charge in terms of performance.
Also Read: Suniel Shetty Defends Ranveer Singh Amid Don 3 Row: “This Kid Has Given ₹3,500 Crore Revenue”
For the latest box office updates, Bollywood news, and entertainment stories, keep following VvipTimes for accurate and timely coverage from the world of cinema.
