Box Populi
PVR INOX likely to return to profit on blockbuster driven box office boom
June quarter revenue seen rising 12.5 per cent as admissions climb to 36.4 million
MUMBAI: The box office has found its leading star and this time, it’s the cinema business itself. After years of uneven recovery, India’s theatrical market is once again filling seats and ringing tills, with PVR INOX expected to swing back to profitability in the June quarter on the back of a blockbuster content slate and the strongest first-half box office performance since the pandemic.
According to a Moneycontrol report, the country’s largest multiplex operator is set to benefit from a robust lineup that included Peddi, Karuppu, Bhooth Bangla, Vaazha 2 and Drishyam 3, helping industry-wide box office collections rise 12.1 per cent year-on-year to Rs 2,760 crore during the April-June period.
The strong quarter caps a record-breaking first half for Indian cinema. Between January and June 2026, the domestic box office collected Rs 6,398 crore, making it the highest-grossing first half since the Covid-19 pandemic. Admissions also rose by around 5 per cent year-on-year to 378 million footfalls, reversing several years of sluggish audience growth.
A significant share of that momentum came from Aditya Dhar’s Dhurandhar: The Revenge, which accounted for nearly 20 per cent of India’s first-half box office collections. The film emerged as 2026’s biggest theatrical success, underlining the growing importance of tentpole releases in driving cinema revenues.
Brokerage firm Prabhudas Lilladher, cited by Moneycontrol, expects PVR INOX to report an adjusted profit after tax of Rs 21.8 crore for the June quarter, compared with a loss of Rs 54 crore in the same period last year. Revenue is projected to increase 12.5 per cent year-on-year to Rs 1,652 crore.
The brokerage also expects admissions at PVR INOX to rise 7 per cent to 36.4 million, supported by sustained demand for big-screen releases and the continued box office run of Dhurandhar: The Revenge.
Consumer spending inside cinemas also appears to be improving. The average ticket price is expected to reach Rs 268, while food and beverage spending per customer is projected to increase to Rs 160, indicating stronger per-capita spending alongside rising footfalls.
The expected recovery follows an already encouraging March quarter, when PVR INOX returned to profitability with a net profit of Rs 186.7 crore, while revenue grew nearly 26 per cent, driven by titles including Dhurandhar: The Revenge, Border 2 and Project Hail Mary.
Looking ahead, analysts expect momentum to continue with a packed release calendar featuring films such as Ramayana, King and Love & War in the second half of the year. If the current pace is sustained, industry estimates suggest India’s annual box office collections could exceed Rs 15,000 crore in 2026, setting a new benchmark for the theatrical business and signalling that the post-pandemic recovery may finally have reached its blockbuster finale.
