01
18.89 Cr footfallsThe market grew on attendance and price
Footfalls rose 29% and average ticket price rose 7.7%. Occupancy reached 25.6%, up 4.8 percentage points, with growth across city tiers and screen formats.
Indian film industry report
India’s box office grew 39%.The typical film had a harder quarter.
India Box Office Report, Q3 2026A closer look at box office growth, audience demand, the films that led the quarter and how their runs played out from July to September.
1 July to 30 September 2026
Gross box office
₹4,468 Cr
+39.3% vs Q2
Footfalls
18.89 Cr
+29.4% vs Q2
Average ticket price
₹236
+7.7% vs Q2
Tracked footprint
9,786 screens
Across 4,429 cinemas
Inside the report
What changed, and which films benefited?
The report looks at audience demand, the films that led the quarter and why some titles kept drawing viewers after opening week.
02
62% from the top 10Growth was concentrated in a few films
The top 10 releases took 62% of Q3 gross, up from 51% in Q2. Multilingual titles were 26% of releases but contributed 71% of gross.
03
₹3.4 Cr median grossThe typical film faced a harder quarter
For releases grossing at least ₹50 lakh, median gross was ₹3.4 Cr, 22% below Q2. Only 18% of Indian-language films with reported budgets grossed their budget.
04
122 of 130 peaked in week oneBreakouts were rare and built after release
The average Q3 release earned 44% of its run in the opening weekend, and 122 of 130 films in the outcome-analysis base had their best week in week one.
Page 19: Breakout films
Most films peak early.
A few rewrite the run.
The average Q3 release earned 44% of its lifetime India gross in its opening weekend and 74% in its first seven days. The films below took a very different path, finding audiences well beyond opening weekend.
A striking pattern
122 of 130
films in the outcome-analysis base had their best week in week one.
Hanuman Ansh
₹413 Cr
lifetime India gross
Opening weekend0.2%
- Budget
- ₹2 Cr
- Gross / budget
- 206x
- Best week
- Week 5
- Peak day
- Day 38
- Week 1 occupancy
- 15%
Bethlehem Kudumba Unit
₹176 Cr
lifetime India gross
Opening weekend12%
- Budget
- ₹23 Cr
- Gross / budget
- 7.65x
- Best week
- Week 2
- Peak day
- Day 10
- Week 1 occupancy
- 72%
Mirzapur
₹283 Cr
lifetime India gross
Opening weekend38%
- Budget
- ₹115 Cr
- Gross / budget
- 2.46x
- Best week
- Week 1
- Peak day
- Day 3
- Week 1 occupancy
- 40%
Romanchakam
₹9.5 Cr
lifetime India gross
Opening weekend53%
- Budget
- ₹3 Cr
- Gross / budget
- 3.16x
- Best week
- Week 1
- Peak day
- Day 1
- Week 1 occupancy
- 24%
Q3 average
Benchmark₹26 Cr
lifetime India gross
Opening weekend44%
- Budget
- Not reported
- Gross / budget
- Not reported
- Best week
- Week 1
- Peak day
- Day 3
- Week 1 occupancy
- 20%
Q3 average is based on 130 Indian-language releases with reported budget and lifetime gross of at least ₹50 lakh. Mean is used for gross, opening share and occupancy; median is used for gross-to-opening multiple, best week and peak day.
Page 20: Hanuman Ansh
Hanuman Ansh: from near-exit
to a ₹413 Cr run.
Its opening weekend contributed just ₹0.8 Cr, or 0.2% of lifetime gross. Shows fell sharply in week two, but the remaining screens were at 46% occupancy. Exhibitors rebuilt the footprint from week three; the run peaked in week five.
Lifetime India gross
₹413 Cr
206 times its ₹2 Cr budget
Opening weekend
₹0.8 Cr
0.2% of lifetime gross
Peak week
Week 5
₹102 Cr gross
Peak day
Day 38
₹25.7 Cr gross
India gross by run phase
A near-exit became the peak stretch
Gross in ₹ Cr, share of lifetime total
LaunchWeek 1
₹1.3 Cr
0.3% of total gross
- Theatres
- 270
- Occupancy
- 15%
Near exitWeek 2
₹0.5 Cr
0.1% of total gross
- Theatres
- 36
- Occupancy
- 46%
RebuildWeeks 3 to 4
₹79.2 Cr
19% of total gross
- Theatres
- 1,182
- Occupancy
- 40%
PeakWeeks 5 to 7
₹259.6 Cr
63% of total gross
- Theatres
- 1,976
- Occupancy
- 32%
Late run and TeluguWeeks 8 to 11
₹72.1 Cr
17% of total gross
- Theatres
- 1,878
- Occupancy
- 22%
What happened next: shows fell from 2,044 to 306 in week two, but occupancy on the remaining shows reached 46%. Exhibitors brought theatres back from week three. The film went on to peak at 1,976 theatres in weeks five to seven.
Language-version daily gross is shown in the source report. The phase totals above use the report’s rounded India-gross figures and may not sum exactly due to rounding. Telugu version released 7 October; previews from 30 July count as day one.
What the numbers show
A hits-driven quarter,
not a broad recovery.
Attendance, prices and occupancy all improved, lifting tracked box office by 39%. But the increase was uneven: a small group of titles captured most of the gross, while the typical film earned less and fewer films reached their reported production budgets.
The takeaway
A rising market can still be a tougher market for most films.
Concentration
The top five grew their share
Q2 2026 (33% of quarter gross)₹1,044 Cr
Q3 2026 (40% of quarter gross)₹1,785 Cr
Q3’s top five earned ₹741 Cr more than Q2’s top five. These are show-date quarter grosses, not lifetime totals.
Q3 leaders
Five films, ₹1,785 Cr
Top releases by Q3 India gross, in ₹ Cr
01Spider-Man: Brand New Day₹628 Cr
02Hanuman Ansh₹374 Cr
03Toxic₹296 Cr
04Mirzapur: The Movie₹281 Cr
05Dhamaal 4₹206 Cr
About the figures
A few things to keep in mind.
Tracked market
Market totals use CinemaIP data from 4,429 tracked cinemas and 9,786 screens. Coverage is not every cinema in India and may be less complete for single screens.
Two ways of measuring
Market metrics count screenings by show date. Film comparisons group releases by quarter and use each film’s lifetime India gross to date.
Gross is not profit
Gross-to-budget compares India theatrical gross with reported production budgets. It excludes producer share and non-theatrical revenue; it is not a profitability measure.
Source: CinemaIP daily box office data and team analysis. Some data may be missing, and CinemaIP cannot guarantee every figure is accurate or complete. The analysis uses data through 23 October 2026. Films released late in September may still be running.
The complete report
Read the full 22-page report.
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