Major confrontation begins in cinema screenings: films of star actors compete for audiences

The film 'Hanuman ANS', created with a budget of 2 crore rupees and based on the story of Nim Karoli Baba, continues to demonstrate significant success eight weeks after its release. Despite the time passed, the film has not lost its popularity, earning over 400 crore rupees worldwide. The film is also planned for release in South Indian regions, and the first Telugu trailer has already been released.

When journalists asked actress Richa Chadda about the significance of 'Hanuman ANS''s success for the 2026 film industry and the prospects for quality content, she disagreed with this assumption. She noted that 'Hanuman ANS' is an exception and cannot be compared to other films such as the Hollywood movie 'Obsession'.

Richa Chadda believes that mythological films traditionally enjoy good demand. She emphasized that religious or mythological pictures are a safe choice for viewers because people watch them. Therefore, in her opinion, it is premature to speak of major changes in cinema.

The actress also expressed the opinion that for Indian cinema to become truly content-oriented, it is necessary to focus primarily on good scripts and authors. She is confident that increasing the remuneration for screenwriters and writers will allow more attention to be paid to the content of the films, which will ultimately lead to films with strong plots becoming market leaders.

In the context of successful releases this year, besides 'Hanuman ANS', the successes of 'Dhurandar: Revenge' and the ongoing box office collection of 'Drishyam 3' are noted. However, according to Richa, no other film from South India or Bollywood has yet emerged that possesses both outstanding content and commercial success. Future projects expected include Rajinikanth's 'Jailer 2', Ranbir Kapoor's 'Ramayana', Shraddha Kapoor's 'Ita', and Shah Rukh Khan's 'King'.

Screenwriter Amil Kian Khan revealed that more than a hundred drafts were developed to finalize the ending of the film 'Drishyam 3' (titled 'Drishyam: The Conclusion'). In a recent interview, Amil noted that the most challenging task was creating an entirely new plot for the third installment that would not copy the original material while still preserving the true spirit of the franchise.

This film represents a departure from previous installments, as the first two parts were direct remakes of the Malayalam films 'Drishyam' by Mohanal. However, the third part steers the story and conclusion in a new direction with Vijay Salgaonkar and his family.

Discussing the writing process with 'The Free Press Journal,' Amil described it as extremely difficult. He compared it to climbing a very high mountain, bearing the burden of the legacy of two highly acclaimed films and the audience's attachment to a family they have known for years. Furthermore, there was the crucial question: how to surprise the audience for the third time?

'The task was to write an original screenplay while retaining the DNA of 'Drishyam.' It had to include humor, family, emotion, drama, and thriller, with no single element dominating the others. It was like creating a very delicate balance. Fortunately, no one refused this task.'

He added that achieving justice regarding the film's ending (climax) was not easy, and the team wrote numerous drafts before reaching the final version.

Sharing amusing details of the process, Amil mentioned having folders within folders containing numbered and dated drafts, as well as files named 'FINAL', 'FINAL 2', 'FINAL FINAL', and possibly 'FINAL PLEASE GOD.' He admitted he lost count, but there are over a hundred different versions.

'Drishyam: The Conclusion' concludes Salgaonkar's struggle with the Goa police. The police attempt to prove that they concealed the body of a boy who was the son of IGP Mira Deshmukh. The film also demonstrated an impressive opening at the box office: it earned ₹176.50 crore (net) in India and ₹272.80 crore (gross) worldwide in three days.

The film is directed by Abhishek Patak, and Ajay Devgn reprises his role as Vijay Salgaonkar. Shriya Saran, Tabu, Ishita Datta, and Mrinal Jadhav also star in the film, while the cast also includes Jaydip Ahalat, Rajat Kapoor, and Prakash Raj.

The film 'Drishyam 3' is fully ready for release in theaters on October 2nd, Ganesh Chaturthi, generating immense interest from viewers. Preliminary sales statistics show exceptionally high figures, indicating a potentially explosive debut.

Industry experts believe that the third and final installment of this successful franchise is capable of collecting 50 crore rupees (net) on its first day of release. The influx of pre-purchases has created a charged atmosphere even before the official release.

Thanks to this strong pace of pre-sales, 'Drishyam 3' is moving towards becoming the second biggest opening among all Hindi films in 2026. In this ranking, it will only be surpassed by 'Dhurandhar 2'. If the film reaches the projected mark of 50 crore rupees, it will significantly outperform other major releases of the year, such as 'Mirzapur: The Movie' (28.11 crore rupees) and 'Border 2' (32.10 crore rupees), which will be directed by Abhishek Patak.

As of Thursday morning, the film has already collected 19.75 crore rupees in pre-sales. On the premiere day, Friday, over 5.35 lakh tickets were sold across more than 12,000 shows nationwide. According to the trade website Sacnilk, the figures for the three-day weekend are even more impressive: including paid seats, the film exceeded 36.25 crore rupees (gross) solely from advance bookings in India.

The film's success is not limited to India; 'Drishyam 3' is also in high demand in international markets. Over 3 crore rupees has already been collected from overseas pre-sales for the premiere day. Total revenue from overseas pre-sales over the weekend exceeded 5 crore rupees. It is expected that the total global pre-sale volume will reach 50 crore rupees before the cinema screenings begin, foreshadowing a historic weekend.

In the domestic market, the film has strengthened its position shortly before the release. Even before the completion of sales on the last day, the gross collection on the premiere day approached 20 crore rupees. Since sales are ongoing and more audience members are expected to flock to theaters, the film has every chance of reaching the target of 50 crore rupees (net). In this regard, it has surpassed all previous ticket sales records for its previous installment, 'Drishyam 2.'

Ajay Devgn will once again appear in his iconic role as Vijay Salgaonkar—a family man willing to make any sacrifice to conceal family secrets. In this third and final part, he will be accompanied by Tabu, Shrriya Saran, Jaydeep Ahlawat, Ishita Datta, and Mrinal Jadhav.