A newly opened theatre in Tiruchi, as the movie market booms in tier-2 centres and beyond | Photo Credit: VENGADESH R

From luxury seating to packed single screens, India’s box office is witnessing a historic, post-pandemic surge this year. Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, which crossed ₹100 crore in gross collections within the first week of its release, is just the latest blockbuster riding the wave. What’s remarkable is the broad-based growth across Hindi, Hollywood and regional language films, making it the highest grossing first half of any year post Covid. With a strong line-up of films in the second half, the year promises to be a milestone one for movie ticket sales, which are expected to cross the ₹15,000 crore mark, according to Ormax Media.

PVR INOX’s investor presentation states that box-office collections in India grew 20 per cent in the January-June period to ₹6,665 crore from ₹5,570 crore a year ago, outpacing international markets.

What enthuses Sanjeev Kumar Bijli, Executive Director, PVR INOX, is the growth beyond metros in tier-2 and tier-3 markets. “Consumers are coming to watch not just the big-budget films but also the mid-scale and small films that are not star-driven,” he said.

Box-office boom

Notes Bijli, “Films that are now touching the ₹100 crore mark were, even two years ago, stopping at ₹30-40 crore. Main Vaapas Aaunga has grossed nearly ₹100 crore. A horror English film like Obsession also garnered ₹100 crore. These are all sleeper hits, and such smaller movies earning nearly ₹100 crore is a very positive sign.”

He points to how star-driven films like Bhoot Bangla are garnering over ₹200 crore. At the same time, regional cinema is witnessing multi-fold growth.

Earlier this month, the Multiplex Association of India, too, had pointed out that a healthy mix of blockbuster franchises, original stories, regional cinema and international releases had resonated with audiences across India in the first half of the year.

According to Ormax Media, Dhurandhar: The Revenge and Border 2 in Hindi and Peddi in Telugu were the top three grossers in the January-June period. Six films crossed the ₹200 crore mark, compared to four a year ago, the media consulting firm said.

Project Hail Mary and Obsession were among the top 15 grossers, indicating the strong run enjoyed by Hollywood productions in India; the hype surrounding The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day is further proof of this.

Audience advocacy

Devang Sampat, MD, Cinepolis India, said, “After a strong performance in H1 and, given the robust content pipeline for the second half of the year, we expect to see this year’s box-office collection outperforming historical benchmarks. The internal metric we closely monitor is the number of consumers visiting the cinema... The million-plus-footfall movies have been growing year-on-year.”

Echoing this, Ashish Saksena, COO-Cinemas, BookMyShow, said India’s movie theatre success is no longer driven by one language or genre. “We’ve seen greater stability in box-office trends compared to the immediate post-pandemic years. Rather than relying on one or two tent-pole releases, we’re seeing a wider mix of films sustaining theatrical momentum through audience advocacy and positive word-of-mouth,” he said. “Main Vaapas Aaunga, for instance, continued to perform steadily in cinemas weeks after release, despite audiences knowing it would eventually arrive on OTT.”

Movies like Dhurandhar: The Revenge, Jana Nayagan in Tamil and The Odyssey have seen stellar advance bookings. “Consumers are increasingly booking tickets earlier, driven by anticipation around upcoming releases, rather than waiting for reviews or word of mouth, which reflects a growing confidence in today’s theatrical slate. Another encouraging indicator is the gradual pickup in weekend business across a wider range of films,” Saksena said.

Premiumisation

Leading multiplex chains are adding screens. “There is a lot of headroom for growth. We are looking at adding 40 screens per year across the key catchments, irrespective of whether it is tier-1, tier-2 or metro,” said Sampat.

Movie-goers are increasingly value conscious rather than price conscious, driving a premiumisation trend. “The Odyssey is a great example of this shift. Many audiences chose to wait to experience the film in IMAX rather than watching in a standard format,” said Saksena, adding this is driving investments in upgrading the exhibition ecosystem, including sound, projection and overall in-cinema experiences. Moreover, globally, filmmakers are increasingly designing films that are best experienced in the premium formats.

“Almost 20 per cent of our circuit is premium screens like IMAX, 4DX, ICE, ScreenX, Insignia and Director’s Cut. These formats offer a more immersive experience, and we are committed to expanding them as consumers are willing to pay more for the differentiation,” Bijli said.

The big-ticket line-up for the second half of the year, including Ramayana: Part 1, King, Toxic, Fauzi, Jailer 2, Avengers: Doomsday and Spider-Man: Brand New Day, promises to keep the cash registers ringing for longer.

Published on July 27, 2026