Taapsee Pannu is back in her comfort zone – hard-hitting, socially relevant cinema. Her upcoming courtroom thriller Assi, directed by Anubhav Sinha, is slated for a theatrical release on February 20, 2026. While the film is generating significant chatter for its gritty trial of a rape case, it would be interesting to see if the Thappad actress manages to break into the list of the biggest female openers in Bollywood!
It is not the first time that Taapsee has entered the courtroom. She has earlier impressed as a lawyer in Anubhav Sinha’s Mulk. Meanwhile, she won the audience with her gut-wrenching portrayal of a victim in Pink, where she was defended by Amitabh Bachchan in the courtroom!
Assi Box Office Day 1 VS Top Female Openers!
Currently, the list of the top 10 female openers in Bollywood is dominated by commercial powerhouses. Taapsee‘s challenge is to infiltrate the list by claiming the 10th spot at least. The spot has been owned by Priyanka Chopra’s Mary Kom since 2014. The biopic opened at 8 crore in India.
Considering that the social dramas are now an extinct genre in theaters, it would be interesting to see if Taapsee Pannu manages to beat the top female openers of 2025 – 2026. In 2025, it was Kajol’s Maa which opened at 4.93 crore. Meanwhile, this year, it is Rani Mukerji’s Mardaani 3, which registered an opening day collection of 4 crore.
Check out the top 10 biggest female-centric Bollywood openers at the box office (India Net Collection).
- Stree 2: 64.80 crore
- Veere Di Wedding: 10.70 crore
- Gangubai Kathiawadi: 10.50 crore
- Crew: 10.28 crore
- The Dirty Picture: 9.54 crore
- Manikarnika – The Queen of Jhansi: 8.75 crore
- Dear Zindagi: 8.75 crore
- Ragini MMS 2: 8.43 crore
- The Kerala Story: 8.03 crore
- Mary Kom: 8 crore
Check out the box office collections and verdicts of Hindi films of 2026 here.
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