The Disco box office collection has opened with a number that tells the whole story of this Diwali weekend in Kerala: just Rs 60 lakh net in India on its first day. The Malayalam action-crime thriller, starring Antony Varghese and released in theatres on 6 November 2026, earned Rs 70 lakh gross in India and the same Rs 70 lakh worldwide, according to Sacnilk figures reported in trade coverage today, 7 November. Almost all of that money came from one state, and the film now faces a weekend where it must do far better than its opening day to survive.
Disco arrived on one of the busiest release days of the year for South Indian cinema, sharing 6 November with Suriya’s Scene and Nayanthara’s Mookuthi Amman 2, while Ranbir Kapoor’s Ramayana was still dominating screens a day into its run. The film had the ingredients of a breakout — a writer coming off Angamaly Diaries, a packed ensemble of young Malayalam talent, and a teaser that crossed 3 million views. The first-day numbers, however, show a film that opened almost entirely on its home turf and barely registered anywhere else. Here is what the Disco box office collection looks like after Day 1, why it happened, and what Saturday and Sunday need to deliver.
Image Credit: Chembosky Motion Pictures — Official Teaser via YouTube
Disco box office collection Day 1: the numbers in full
The headline figures of the Disco box office collection are simple and sobering. On Day 1, Friday 6 November, the film collected Rs 60 lakh net in India, taking its India gross to Rs 70 lakh and its worldwide gross to Rs 70 lakh as well, which means the film earned almost nothing outside India on its opening day. The figures come from Sacnilk and were reported by Koimoi, 7Globe and ScreenStat on 7 November.
The state-wise split explains the shape of the opening. Kerala contributed Rs 65 lakh of the Rs 70 lakh India gross, which is roughly 93% of everything the film earned. Karnataka added just Rs 3 lakh, and the rest of India together accounted for only Rs 2 lakh. Live trade tracking counted 1,024 shows on the first day at an overall occupancy of around 14%, with about 31,846 tickets sold across the tracked chains. The tracked gross on those chains came to Rs 53.87 lakh, lower than the Sacnilk all-India figure, which is normal: the live tracker counts only the big multiplex chains, while Sacnilk’s total covers the wider release.
Put another way, Disco opened like a Kerala-only release. A film that earns 93% of its money in one state has not travelled, and in a weekend where three big films were fighting for the same screens, that is the first problem the makers have to solve.
5 shocking facts from the Disco box office collection
The Disco box office collection throws up five facts that explain why this opening is being talked about in trade circles.
1. The opening day is just Rs 60 lakh net. The Disco box office collection begins with Rs 60 lakh net in India. For a film with a large ensemble cast and a wide release across Kerala, that is a quiet start, and it sets a low base for the whole weekend.
2. Kerala carried 93% of the opening. Rs 65 lakh of the Rs 70 lakh gross came from Kerala alone. Outside the home state, the film barely registered: Rs 3 lakh from Karnataka and Rs 2 lakh from the rest of India combined. A film this dependent on one market has no cushion if Kerala slows down.
3. It opened 84% below Kattalan. Koimoi reports that Disco’s opening is 84% lower than Kattalan, the recent Antony Varghese film that opened at Rs 3.8 crore. The comparison stings because it shows how far the star’s drawing power has fallen in a single year when the film around him does not click.
4. It ranked only third in Kerala on its own opening day. Even in its home state, Disco finished third on Day 1. Scene earned Rs 6 crore in Kerala and Ramayana earned Rs 2.15 crore there, leaving Disco far behind both. When a Malayalam film cannot lead its own home market on opening day, the weekend becomes an uphill climb.
5. Day 2 is already tracking soft. The Disco box office collection is not picking up on Saturday either. Live tracking at 5:03 PM IST on 7 November showed Day 2 gross at just Rs 14.48 lakh so far, from 643 shows at 6.1% occupancy, and the advance booking for Sunday stood at only Rs 8.04 lakh gross from 4,856 tickets. Those are live figures and they will move through the evening, but the direction is clear: this is not a film building momentum.
Kerala carried the film, and that is the problem
The most important number in the Disco box office collection is not Rs 60 lakh. It is 93%. A film that takes 93% of its opening from a single state is a film that has not found an audience anywhere else, and Disco’s problem is that even inside Kerala it was beaten badly. Scene, Suriya’s Tamil action comedy, took Rs 6 crore in Kerala on its first day, and Ramayana, a Hindi epic, took Rs 2.15 crore in the state. Disco, a Malayalam film made for the Kerala audience, managed Rs 65 lakh gross there.
Part of that is the clash. Three films opened on 6 November, and the screens went to the bigger names first. Scene had Suriya and the Diwali buzz, Ramayana had the biggest opening in Indian cinema history behind it, and Mookuthi Amman 2 had Nayanthara. Disco had to fight for shows in that company, and its 1,024 tracked shows at 14% occupancy show a film that got screens but not crowds. The other part is the film itself: the first reviews were divided, and divided reviews do not send people to the booking page on a crowded weekend.
What the reviews say about Disco
The reviews help explain why the Disco box office collection looks the way it does. Lensmen Reviews calls the film an “exhausting mess” and says the crowded directorial vision ruins what could have been a competent gangster thriller, while still praising Chemban Vinod Jose’s wit as the film’s lone survivor. On NetTV4U, the critics’ rating is just 1.5 out of 5, though the audience rating is far kinder at 3.42 out of 5 from more than 550 votes, and the film collected over 440 audience reviews on BookMyShow on its opening day.
That split matters. Viewers who enjoyed the film praise the stylish underworld setting, the background score and a few mass sequences, along with the energetic presence of Chemban Vinod Jose on screen. The complaints point to a slow and uneven first half and humour that does not always land. For a film like Disco, the audience verdict counts more than the critics, but the audience verdict so far is a shrug, not a cheer — and a shrug does not fill seats on a Saturday.
The film behind the numbers
Disco is a Malayalam action-crime thriller directed by Ullas Chemban and written by Chemban Vinod Jose, the writer of Angamaly Diaries, one of the finest gangster dramas in Malayalam cinema. Ullas Chemban made his directorial debut with the 2024 film Anchakkallakokkan. The film stars Antony Varghese, fondly known as Pepe, as Yoyaki, the antagonist, alongside Arjun Ashokan, Lukman Avaran and Dev Mohan, with Chemban Vinod Jose himself in a key role. The supporting cast includes Femina George, Vishnu Unnikrishnan, Sreenath Bhasi, Sagar Surya, Meera Vasudevan, Gayathri Suresh and Kalyani Anil.
The story follows Ousu, an ordinary man, and his group of misfit friends, who team up with a rival gang for one big score. When the plan goes wrong, it sparks a war of revenge, betrayal and survival in a seaside town where two gangs — one led by Ousu and the other by Darling Marty — keep crossing each other’s paths. The film is produced by Chemban Vinod and Ahmad Golchin under the banners of Chembosky Motion Pictures and Phars Film, with music and original score by Manikandan Ayyappa. It runs for 2 hours and 38 minutes and carries an A certificate. We covered the film’s release, cast and first reactions when it hit theatres on 6 November — read our Disco release post here for the full story and review round-up.
Disco trailer: the teaser that promised a bigger opening
The official teaser of Disco, which has crossed 3 million views, is the version of the film the makers wanted audiences to see: guns, gangs, swagger and a retro disco flavour, built around five men in black standing against the giant red title. You can watch it right here:
The teaser did its job. It made people curious about who these men are and what they are fighting over. The opening-day numbers show that curiosity did not convert into ticket sales at the scale the makers needed, and the gap between a 3-million-view teaser and a Rs 60 lakh opening is the gap between interest and intent.
What to watch next in the Disco box office collection
Three things will decide how the Disco box office collection looks by Monday morning. The first is the final Saturday number: if the evening shows lift Day 2 well above the live tracking, the film can still put together a respectable first weekend. The second is Sunday, traditionally the biggest day for a Malayalam release, where the advance booking of just Rs 8.04 lakh gross so far is a worry. The third is whether word of mouth in Kerala turns around — the audience score of 3.42 out of 5 suggests some viewers are enjoying the film, and a film this dependent on one state needs those viewers to bring their friends.
The OTT release details of Disco have not been announced yet. The film is currently available only in theatres, and no streaming platform or date has been confirmed by the makers. Going by the usual pattern for Malayalam films, a digital premiere is likely a few weeks after the theatrical run, but until the makers make it official, the only way to watch Disco is on the big screen.
Disco box office collection FAQs
What is the Disco box office collection on Day 1?
The Disco box office collection on Day 1, Friday 6 November 2026, stands at Rs 60 lakh net in India, with an India gross of Rs 70 lakh and a worldwide gross of Rs 70 lakh, according to Sacnilk figures reported in trade coverage.
How much did Disco earn in Kerala on its opening day?
Disco earned Rs 65 lakh gross in Kerala on Day 1, which is roughly 93% of its entire India gross. Karnataka added Rs 3 lakh and the rest of India added Rs 2 lakh.
How does Disco’s opening compare with Kattalan?
Disco opened 84% lower than Kattalan, Antony Varghese’s recent film, which opened at Rs 3.8 crore. Disco also ranked third at the Kerala box office on Day 1, behind Scene at Rs 6 crore and Ramayana at Rs 2.15 crore in the state.
Who stars in Disco?
Antony Varghese leads the cast as Yoyaki, along with Arjun Ashokan, Lukman Avaran, Chemban Vinod Jose, Dev Mohan, Femina George, Vishnu Unnikrishnan and Sreenath Bhasi. The film is directed by Ullas Chemban and written by Chemban Vinod Jose.
What is the story of Disco?
Ousu and his misfit friends team up with a rival gang for one big score, but when the plan goes wrong, it sparks a war of revenge, betrayal and survival in a seaside town.
Where can I watch Disco on OTT?
The OTT platform and date for Disco have not been announced yet. The film is currently running only in theatres.
The Disco box office collection has begun with a whisper from a single state, and the weekend will decide whether that whisper turns into a Kerala word-of-mouth recovery or a warning about what happens when a film opens in the shadow of two much bigger releases. The film has the cast, the writer and the swagger. What it does not have yet is the audience, and only Saturday and Sunday can fix that.
Image Credit: Chembosky Motion Pictures — Official Teaser via YouTube
