Bollywood Hungama

EXCLUSIVE: Cinepolis Indias Ashish Misra predicts HISTORIC Rs. 15,000 cr India box office in 2026; says, Ramayana can be the BIGGEST film Indian cinema has ever seen

By the end of July, international films had amassed Rs. 1,424 crores at the Indian box office, putting 2026 within striking distance of the all-time annual record of Rs. 1,595 crores set in 2019. Leading the charge was Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which emerged as the highest-grossing international film ever in India. The strong momentum continued through August, with international cinema commanding a 15% share of the Indian box office, up from 10% in 2025. The overall Indian box office, too, has been witnessing consistent growth. The cumulative gross box office of all films released in India stood at Rs. 11,833 crores in 2024 and rose to Rs. 13,395 crores in 2025. With 2026 delivering strong results across languages, genres and budgets, Ashish Misra, Head of Commercialisation, Cinepolis India, believes it would not be a surprise if the cumulative box office crosses the Rs. 15,000 crore mark for the first time. In an exclusive conversation with Bollywood Hungama, Ashish Misra spoke about Hollywoods impressive resurgence, expectations from Ramayana, the packed final quarter of 2026 and why the year could turn out to be a historic one for the Indian film industry. How do you view Hollywood's performance so far this year? Not just biggies but even smaller films like Obsession worked big time Hollywood has bounced back after facing a few barriers. The strikes in 2023 delayed the production and release of several films, and that had a trickle-down effect on box office performance as well. But this year, we have witnessed renewed interest, with films across multiple genres performing well. Historically, horror has been a promising genre for Hollywood films in India. We have seen that with The Conjuring universe, the Evil Dead series, etc. Hence, Obsession performing well was not a surprise, especially because the film had incredibly positive word of mouth not just in India but globally. Today, in a connected world, when people start praising a movie, we see that sentiment translating into the Indian box office as well. Thats what happened with Obsession. Meanwhile, Michael also did well. Project Hail Mary caught the imagination of Indian audiences because of its visuals and subject. And now, Spider-Man: Brand New Day has become the biggest Hollywood film ever in India. It is part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which tends to perform very well in the country. Its performance has further increased our expectations from Avengers: Doomsday. Hence, December looks very promising from an exhibitors point of view. Besides Avengers: Doomsday, we also have Dune: Part Three and Jumanji: Open World. Overall, 2026 is shaping up to be a very strong year for the industry. Besides Avengers: Doomsday, Dune: Part Three and Jumanji: Open World, Shah Rukh Khans King also releases around the same time. Will it be a challenge to divide shows among these four anticipated films? When it comes to programming, its ultimately about demand. The idea is to allot more shows to the films that audiences want to watch. To give you an example, Toxic and Hanuman Ansh were playing in cinemas at the same time. Toxic was expected to be a huge grosser, while Hanuman Ansh, despite having released three weeks earlier, was gradually gaining momentum around the same time. Our programming accordingly evolved based on what the audiences were demanding. What are your hopes from Ramayana? All of us Indians have grown up being mesmerized by the story of the Ramayana. Its theme of good versus evil resonates with audiences across the country. Hence, our expectations from Ramayana are very high. It is mounted on such a massive scale that we believe it has the potential to become the biggest film the Indian film industry has ever seen. And its not just about India. The film also has the ability to take Indian culture and heritage to audiences across the world. Any final thoughts? 2026 looks set to be the best-ever year for the Indian film industry. It will probably be the first time that the box office in India crosses the Rs. 15,000 crores mark. What is particularly encouraging is that the contribution is not coming from just a handful of blockbusters; a lot of small and medium-budget films are also doing very well. Thats one trend that has given us a lot of confidence. Also Read: Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Rama: Ramayana makers unveil BTS glimpse on actors birthday