Anubhav Sinha calls box office figures “good gossip,” says he’d rather not reveal Assi’s numbers

February 20, 2026 - 10:47 AM IST

Filmmaker Anubhav Sinha has said he would prefer not to publicly disclose the box office numbers of his latest release Assi, calling the industry’s obsession with earnings “good gossip” that distracts from the actual film.

Anubhav Sinha calls box office figures “good gossip,” says he’d rather not reveal Assi’s numbers

In a chat with The Indian Express, Sinha made it clear that if given a choice, he would avoid announcing the film’s earnings altogether. “If I could, I wouldn’t announce my numbers, no matter how good or bad. I don’t think I can stop it. I’ll do my best,” he said, adding, “I’ll fight tooth and nail to not release our film’s poster with all the star ratings. But sometimes, you get overwritten.”

Sinha criticised the way box office figures are consumed and misunderstood by audiences. “The numbers are good gossip. I hope the audience gets it. They don’t understand what’s gross worldwide, gross India, and net India. They don’t know the producer gets only less than 50% of the reported figure. Rs 400 crore, Rs 700, and Rs 800 crore are all very aspirational figures, no? But I hope the audience doesn’t take these numbers seriously,” he said.

According to the filmmaker, the growing fixation on earnings often overshadows meaningful conversations around cinema. “Now, it’s not as much about what’s in front of your eyes, but what’s attractive. You get distracted by that. So, it could be a gossip or a more sensational story because this is not sensational anymore,” he remarked, suggesting that box office discourse has become more attention-grabbing than the films themselves.

Sinha also addressed the perception that content-driven films struggle outside metropolitan centres. Calling it a misconception that tier-2 cities prefer only mass entertainers, he said, “It’s a misconception, now I can say, that tier-2 cities don’t watch films like these. That they watch only Jawan or Kantara. Of course, they like those more. But they’re very interested in these films too. The problem was we were not serving them right.”

Revealing a shift in strategy for Assi, Sinha shared that the promotional campaign was focused heavily on smaller centres. “So, this time my whole campaign has been outside in. For the past two months, we’ve been campaigning for the film in smaller centres,” he said.

Assi, currently running in theatres, features performances by Taapsee Pannu, Kani Kusruti, Manoj Pahwa and Naseeruddin Shah, among others.

Also Read: Anubhav Sinha says shared belief drives his collaboration with Taapsee Pannu in Assi