Thandel, one of the most anticipated Telugu releases of February, has had a slow start at the box office on its opening day. The movie, which marks Naga Chaitanya's first release after his wedding to Sobhita Dhulipala in December, made Rs. 6.82 Cr by 7 pm on day 1, according to early updates from Sacnilk. The film, made on a Rs. 75 Cr budget, had an occupancy of 47.73% in Telugu, 8.81% in Hindi, and 7.92% in Tamil on its opening day.

The patriotic romantic drama, also starring Sai Pallavi, is based on the true story of Chodipilli Musalayya, a fisherman from the village of Kunduvanipeta in Srikakulam, who was imprisoned in Karachi for 22 years after accidentally crossing into Pakistan's waters. The film portrays the struggles of his family and their fight to bring him back.