After the Indian box office clocked double-digit growth in the first half of the fiscal, the exhibition industry expects to end the second half on a strong footing. While movies such as Dhrishyam-3 and Jailer-2 boosted collections in October, Ramayana: Part 1 has begun an impressive run at the box office over the Diwali weekend. Multiplex players and analysts pointed to a robust content pipeline ahead including Avengers: Doomsday, Dune: Part Three , Shah Rukh Khan’s King among others.
Trade analyst Taran Adarsh noted in a post on X that the Hindi version of Ramayana earned ₹175.25 crore in the Thursday-Sunday period. Ticketing platform BookMyShow stated that the film recorded over 140,000 tickets per hour, making it the highest hourly booking for any Indian film on the platform. As per trade site Sacnilk, the film is estimated to have grossed ₹507.20 crore worldwide in the first four days of its opening.
Kamal Gianchandani, President, Multiplex Association of India said that the Diwali period tends to be the strongest box office window of the year. “With very little competition in the weeks ahead, Ramayana is well positioned for a long and successful run at the box office,” he noted
According to PVR INOX’s Q2 FY27 investor presentation, India gross box office collections in September quarter was up nearly 23 per cent year-on-year (cited Ormax Media and company estimates). Sameer Munshi, COO, Miraj Entertainment said, “A strong Diwali means the momentum from October carries through November and into December. With steady footfalls, higher F&B spends and a promising release slate ahead, we expect the second half to close significantly stronger than the first.”
Ashish Misra, Head of Commercialisation, Cinepolis India pointed out that there is also strong interest for premium formats which are witnessing even higher occupancy levels. He added that there is strong optimism for the second half of the fiscal year after H1FY27 witnessed double-digit growth in collections year-on-year
“Consumers are coming to the cinemas more often this year. December has a strong content line-up of films including Avengers: Doomsday, Dune: Part Three, King and Jumanji. We will keep adding shows through each week based on the weekday numbers, so each film gets the shows and timings its audience wants,” he added.
“January to March will decide how the year closes. It depends on mid-size Hindi films and regional releases that bring people in on a regular weekend. For us, that includes Tera Sai in February, which we’re distributing in Hindi, Marathi, Telugu and Tamil,” Misra noted.
Published on November 9, 2026
