The headline number is striking, but the argument underneath it is the part Hindi cinema should remember. Drishyam 3: The Conclusion crossed ₹303 crore in worldwide gross within four days—₹237 crore from India and ₹66 crore from overseas markets. On Tuesday afternoon, according to trade tracker Sacnilk, it had added another ₹4.20 crore to its India net collection.
What the exhibitors saw
PVR INOX contributed around ₹65 crore over the film’s opening weekend, with occupancy at the chain above 65%. The title accounted for roughly 36% of its all-India weekend collection of ₹176 crore. Sanjeev Bijli, the chain’s executive director, said the film had “surpassed our numbers by about 10-15% already, and it’s still running.”
Cinépolis sold 5.1 lakh tickets over the October 2 weekend and 7.8 lakh overall, with North and West India leading. Ashish Misra, head of commercialisation at Cinépolis India, said familiarity “gets you only so far” and audiences “need a compelling reason to make the trip to a cinema.”
A more selective audience—and the data to prove it
The pattern is bigger than one sequel. Bijli pointed to Hanuman Ansh, a film without the usual star cast, marquee music or heavy promotion that has moved toward the ₹300–350 crore range. Toxic, by contrast, arrived with star power and anticipation but did not resonate in the way expected. The Vvaan, despite weak reviews, has collected around ₹81–82 crore in its second week, with PVR INOX taking about 30% and tier-2 and tier-3 cities contributing strongly.
Bijli said consumer taste has “really evolved,” and warned that “the usual masala and the trappings may not work.”
- Hindi share: Ormax puts Hindi cinema’s domestic box-office share at 44% in the first half of 2026, up from 39%.
- Footfalls: Industry footfalls grew 5%, the first rise after three years of decline or stagnation.
- Market size: By the end of August, the Indian box office had reached ₹9,868 crore—18% ahead of the same period last year.
What the next slate has to do
Hindi cinema still contributes around 40–50% of PVR INOX’s revenue, and Bijli noted that the first two quarters of 2026 were broadly similar to the corresponding period last year. The change is in what audiences will leave home for. “There was a time when we used to talk about the ₹100 crore club, and then ₹200 crore club. Now, for a good film to reach ₹400 or ₹500 crore seems very easy,” he said.
The upcoming releases—Ramayan, King, Prahaar and Nayyi Navelli—give exhibitors a pipeline to build on. Misra framed the opportunity as a broader one: not “to chase one blockbuster after another,” but to build a market where more films connect “across genres, budgets and different parts of the year.”
For the multiplex industry, Drishyam 3 is evidence that frequent theatrical visits can return when filmmakers give audiences a reason to leave the house—and a reason to tell someone else about the climax.
Source: Business Media Private Limited
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