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Headlined by John Abraham and Sadia Khateeb, the political thriller The Diplomat was released in the cinemas on March 14 on the occasion of Holi. The film, which is set against the backdrop of India–Pakistan relations, also stars Kumud Mishra, Sharib Hashmi, Ashwath Bhatt, and Revathy in pivotal roles. The Diplomat took a decent start at the box office and earned Rs 4.03 crore on its opening day. The John Abraham-starrer was earlier scheduled to release on March 7 but was postponed a week later to coincide with the Holi festival and it seems that this decision of makers have paid off.

Sharing the box office numbers on his social media, trade analyst Taran Adarsh wrote, "Released with minimal buzz, The Diplomat benefitted from the Holi holiday on Friday, with multiplexes in key centres recording good occupancy post-4 pm. While The Diplomat had to compete with several re-releases, it was #Chhaava – still going strong in its fifth week – that posed the biggest challenge. The Diplomat needs to deliver stronger results on Saturday and Sunday for a respectable weekend total. The Diplomat (Week 1) Fri Rs 4.03 cr. India biz | Nett BOC."

However, The Diplomat has failed to beat the opening day numbers of John Abraham's last release Vedaa. Directed by Nikkhil Advani, the action thriller Vedaa was released in the cinemas on August 15 last year coinciding with Independence Day 2024. It had clashed at the box office with Stree 2 and Khel Khel Mein, but still managed to earn Rs 6.30 crore on its first day. Though Vedaa turned out to be a massive commercial failure as it could just earn Rs 22.50 crore net in India. Its opening day was its highest day at the box office. Both Vedaa and Khel Khel Mein were blown away by the Stree 2 tsunami, which became the first ever Hindi film to cross the Rs 600 crore-mark at the Hindi box office.

Released with minimal buzz, #TheDiplomat benefitted from the #Holi holiday on Friday, with multiplexes in key centres recording good occupancy post-4 pm.

While #TheDiplomat had to compete with several re-releases, it was #Chhaava – still going strong in its fifth week – that… pic.twitter.com/hfU5Fn1gL7

— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) March 15, 2025

Meanwhile, coming back to The Diplomat, the film follows the ordeal of Uzma Ahmed, played by Sadia Khateeb, who is trapped in Pakistan after being deceived into marriage. John Abraham stars as Indian diplomat J.P. Singh, who played a crucial role in her rescue. The political thriller is directed by Shivam Nair and is produced by Bhushan Kumar & Krishan Kumar (T-Series), John Abraham (JA Entertainment), Vipul D. Shah, Ashwin Varde, Rajesh Bahl (Wakaoo Films), and Sameer Dixit, Jatish Varma, Rakesh Dang (Fortune Pictures/Seeta Films).

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