India’s official entry for Oscars, Homebound has performed really badly at the box office. The Ishan Khatter starer seems to be failing to collect revenue, despite critical acclaims.
Homebound, which is India’s official entry of 2026, has started its box office collection as surprisingly less. There has been very strong critical acclaim and very strong buzz around the film, but still, the movie starring Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jethwa, and Janhvi Kapoor has collected just around Rs 80 lakh in just two days, according to early trade estimates. According to Sacnilk.com, Homebound earned Rs. 30 Lakh on its opening day on Friday. It earned an additional Rs. 50 Lakh on Saturday, which made its domestic total net Rs. 80 Lakh. This opening comes as a stark contrast to Ishaan Khatter’s debut movie, Dhadak, which had earned Rs 11.04 crore on its second day.
Even Photobhoot, which is considered an average performer, had a collection of Rs 2.75 crore on day two of opening.
For Vishal Jethwa, the comparison is nothing better. His film Salaam Venky managed to earn Rs. 55 Lakh by the second day, which is still more than Homebound.
Critical acclaim
The film, directed by Neeraj Ghaywan, has earned a lot of praise from the critics, despite the weak commercial start. News18 Showsha awarded it 4.5 stars, writing, “Homebound’s beauty lies in Neeraj’s uninhibited voice and audacious storytelling. And this stirring narrative is further elevated by superlative performances by Ishaan Khatter and Vishal Jethwa and their natural camaraderie.”
The review also said that the film thrives on “playfulness” and “quiet wrath,” which was brought out by the leads. According to them, that made the entire movie one of the year’s finest.
Homebound’s inspiration
Homebound’s inspiration has been taken from Taking Amrit Home, written by the journalist Basharat Peer. (The article is called “A Friendship, a Pandemic, and a Death Beside the Highway.”) The story was rooted in friendship, loss, and survival, and it has been converted into a film in Ghaywan’s classic narrative style of filmmaking.
Homebound selected as Oscar entry for India
The Film Federation of India announced Homebound as India’s official entry for the Oscars on September 19, 2025. It was selected as the official entry for the Best International Feature Film category for the 2026 Oscars.
While the selection has made people really excited, it is just the first step until the Academy finalizes the nomination.
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