Hindi
ABCD, Special 26 continue to do well
MUMBAI: Murder 3 is a Bhatt Brothers formula that fails this time. Lacking in face value and music to back it, the film has had a weak opening and a poor opening weekend. The film managed to collect Rs 112.5 million in its opening weekend.
Viviek Oberoi starrer Jayantabhai Ki Love Story, a rather under-publicised and badly released film, is a write off from day one; it managed to collect just about Rs 17 million for the opening weekend.
Special 26 has been helped to a great extent by good word of mouth as the film, which opened slow on Friday, 8 February, went on to pick up over the next two days, peaking on Sunday and then going on to maintain steady collections through the week to end its opening seven days with Rs 418 million. The film also benefits the most due to the poor new releases — Murder 3 and Jayantabhai Ki Love Story — to hold well in its second weekend to collect Rs 116 million taking its 10 day total to Rs 534 million.
ABCD: Any Body Can Dance has appealed to youth and multiplex patrons. Its best performance is in western India while the east is not up to mark. The film collected Rs 278 million for its first week.
Vishwaroop has not been able to impress the Hindi moviegoer. The film collected Rs 10.5 million in its second week taking its tally to Rs 128 million.
Race2 collected another Rs 38 million for its third week taking its total to Rs 964.3 million.
The coming Friday will see two new releases. While Kai Po Che is the second Chetan Bhagat novel to be adapted for a film (after 3 Idiots) and has immediate identification in Western India, Zila Ghaziabad has a highly UP flavour. So much so that the Delhi-UP distributors are very enthusiastic about the film and plan to release it at all the 20 multiplexes in Ghaziabad and all five in Noida besides booking maximum single screens in the circuit.
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.
