Hindi
Third Eye Fest ends with Rang Rasiya
MUMBAI: The 10th Third Eye Asian Film Festival, that got underway on 22 December, screened as many as 100 feature films and 50 short films.
The films were selected from among over 400 entries received from different Asian Countries including Iran, China, Japan, Israel, Philippines and Indonesia.
The festival that had Turkey as the focus country, promoted and showcased several Turkish films like My Marlon And Brando, Uzak ( Distant) and Yamurta (Egg) that were earlier appreciated at other festivals around the world.
The seven-day affair paid tributes to departed film luminaries like Ashok Kumar and Dev Anand whose cult film Guide was screened in the presence of his son Suniel. Tributes were paid to Ashok Kumar by screening of his B R Chopra-starrer Gumrah.
The festival, that rolled with the premiere of the Chinese film 11 Flowers, ended with Ketan Mehta‘s Rang Rasiya.
Hindi
UFO Cine Media Network unveils ‘India’s biggest cinema moment ever’
Dhurandhar 2 and Toxic tipped to deliver rare pan-India scale for brands
MUMBAI: UFO Cine Media Network is pitching an upcoming dual-film release weekend as what it calls the largest advertising opportunity cinema has offered in India, banking on an estimated 100 million cumulative footfalls nationwide.
The initiative, branded “India’s Biggest Cinema Moment Ever”, is anchored around the simultaneous release of Dhurandhar 2 – The Revenge and Toxic, two high-profile action films expected to dominate screens across regions and languages. Trade projections, supported by cinema measurement tool Procat, suggest the combined lifetime theatrical run could deliver one of the widest audience concentrations seen in recent years.
Dhurandhar 2 – The Revenge, an India–Pakistan spy thriller, is set to release in five languages, broadening its appeal across northern and southern markets. The franchise has already built a sizable multilingual following through theatrical runs and streaming platforms. Toxic, fronted by pan-India star Yash, is expected to draw heavy footfalls across southern circuits and beyond, buoyed by the actor’s proven box-office pull.
UFO, which operates an in-cinema advertising network spanning more than 4,100 theatres, is positioning the release window as a rare moment of synchronised national attention. Its footprint covers multiplexes and single screens across over 1,500 towns and cities, allowing advertisers to deploy campaigns at scale during a single weekend.
Executives at the company argue that cinema’s value lies not just in reach but in attention. Unlike digital or television, audiences are captive, emotionally engaged and free from distraction, they say, translating into stronger recall and measurable returns for brands. With advertisers increasingly focused on performance-led media planning, UFO is framing the dual release as comparable in scale to India’s largest broadcast and sporting properties.
Industry observers note that as theatrical exhibition expands deeper into Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets, such tentpole weekends are becoming anchor moments for annual media strategies. If Dhurandhar 2 – The Revenge and Toxic deliver as expected, the weekend could set new benchmarks not only for box office numbers, but also for cinema’s evolving role as a high-attention advertising medium.
