Yami Gautam Dhar's horror-comedy Nayyi Navelli has opened to a slow start at the box office, collecting an estimated $370,000 net in India on its first day despite a festive Dussehra release and mixed-to-negative reviews. The film, which hit theaters on October 16, 2026, earned $521,000 worldwide on day one, falling well short of expectations for one of the biggest festive releases of the season.
According to trade tracker Sacnilk, the film's India gross stood at $435,000, with overseas markets contributing about $85,000. The movie played across 6,281 shows and drew roughly 155,000 admissions, with overall Hindi 2D occupancy at just 15.08% — morning shows managed only 6.15% before climbing to 22.08% at night. Zoom TV reported a slightly higher net figure of $382,000, but all estimates agree: the opening is modest for a holiday-weekend Bollywood release.
A Witch in the Family
Directed by Balaji Mohan (of Maari fame, making his Hindi directorial debut) and produced by Aanand L Rai and Himanshu Sharma under Colour Yellow Productions and Amazon MGM Studios, the film stars Yami Gautam Dhar as Mohini, a picture-perfect new bride who transforms the chaotic Awasthi household in Meerut. The comedy turns eerie when her brother-in-law Bantu (Anurag Thakur) suspects she is a daayan — a witch — weaving the family drama together with Ramayana-era mythology involving a Treta Yuga stone and a Ravana-linked evil force. Adinath Kothare co-stars as Raja Awasthi, with music by G. V. Prakash Kumar. The film runs 2 hours 18 minutes.
Reviews Range From Flat to Brutal
Critics have not been kind. Mid-Day called it "a lacklustre horror-comedy" and possibly Yami Gautam's weakest film, while The Week said it "falls flat." Telegraph India described it as a "noisy, confused mess" and the Indian Express went further, calling it an "unwatchable mess." The Free Press Journal gave it 2 out of 5, citing a weak screenplay. Online audiences rated it around 2 out of 5 as well, calling it "ambitious but disappointing." Word of mouth will be crucial: the day-one numbers leave the film dependent on the weekend to stay afloat, with a reported budget of $3.4 to $4.0 million.
Tough Company in the Festive Race
Nayyi Navelli faced stiff competition in the Dussehra window. Rajkummar Rao's courtroom drama Prahaar: The Ujjwal Nikam Story opened the same day with $267,000 net, so Yami's film led that head-to-head — but both trail the season's heavyweights: Rajinikanth's Jailer 2, nearing $12 million domestically, and Vijay Deverakonda's Ranabaali. In career terms, the opening beats her 2025 film Haq ($205,000) but falls well short of her 2024 hit Article 370, which opened to $670,000. The weekend will decide whether the horror-comedy can conjure a turnaround or fade into the festive crowd.
Sources
- Times of India: Nayyi Navelli day-1 box office collection
- Mid-Day: Nayyi Navelli movie review
- The Week: Nayyi Navelli box office day 1 collection
Watch: Nayyi Navelli — official trailer — the makers' trailer introduces Mohini (Yami Gautam Dhar) as the picture-perfect bride entering the chaotic Awasthi household, before her brother-in-law's suspicions of a supernatural identity turn the family comedy into folk-horror.
Music in this post's reel: Kevin MacLeod - Silly Fun (incompetech.com), licensed under CC BY 3.0