Box Office: 2026 release calendar gets packed; Hindi, Telugu, Marathi, Kannada, and Hollywood films block festive dates
While we are still in the middle of 2025, the release calendar for 2026 looks exciting already, as films from across industries – Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, Marathi, Tamil, and Hollywood – have blocked major festive and holiday dates of the year. The year begins with a bang with the release of the Sunny Deol, Varun Dhawan, Diljit Dosanjh and Ahan Shetty starrer Border 2 on the Republic Day weekend, followed by the Kartik Aaryan and Ananya Panday led rom-com Tu Meri Main Tera, Main Tera Tu Meri on Valentines Day.
The Eid weekend will see a clash between two feature films. The date is blocked by the Yash-led Toxic and the Ajay Devgn comic franchise, Dhamaal 4. That's not all, Love And War too is announced for the same window, but sources confirm that the film is delayed and will now be aiming at a mid-2026 release. The Good Friday weekend could see a clash between the Priyadarshan-directed Bhooth Bangla ft. Akshay Kumar and the sequel to Awarapan starring Emraan Hashmi. Just a week later, David Dhawan makes his comeback to the big screen with Varun Dhawan, Pooja Hegde, and Mrunal Thakur led Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai, which co-incides with the mid-week holiday of Ambedkar Jayanti.
The Maharashtra/Labour Day date is blocked by Riteish Deshmukh's ambitious Raja Shivaji, whereas NTR Jr's combo with Prashanth Neel will debut on the big screen on June 25. Hollywood releases will dominate the month of July as Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey and Spiderman: Brand New Day will see a release on July 17 and July 24 respectively. The Independence Day weekend at the moment is blocked by the Kartik Aaryan-led Nagzilla, and there is a strong buzz about the arrival of Rajinikanth starrer Jailer 2 on the same day.
The Gandhi Jayanti weekend will see the release of Drishyam 3 starring Ajay Devgn in the lead, whereas the Diwali period marks the arrival of the most awaited Ramayana: Part One. Cut to Christmas period, and it will see the arrival of the much in the news, Avengers: Doomsday on December 18, followed by the Rajkumar Hirani directed Dadasaheb Phalke biopic with Aamir Khan in the titular role. The Amar Kaushik directorial Mahavatar is also announced for a Christmas 2026 release, but there is a possibility for a delay in the release of this epic.
Apart from the aforementioned films, many more from the fraternity are still to get a release date. After URI, Aditya Dhar returns with Dhurandar starring Ranveer Singh, Sanjay Dutt, Akshay Khanna, Arjun Rampal and R Madhavan. The film shoot is expected to wrap up by July and the makers are aiming to release in first quarter of 2026. Shah Rukh Khan and Siddharth Anand's reunion on King is also looking to release in 2026, but is still to get a date. It was targeting to arrive on October 2, but a clash with Drishyam 3 seems unlikely. Salman Khan and Apoorva Lakhia's next on Galwan Valley Clash will also hit the marque in the second half of 2026, but the date of arrival is yet undecided.
A couple of films starring Akshay Kumar and Ajay Devgn will also be aiming at a release in 2026, but there is no clarity on the period of release. Prabhas too will have a release in the form of Fauji, in the second half of 2026. It's a packed year, and if all the films land as well as expected, we are headed to see a historic result at the cinemas in 2026.
Check out the tentative 2026 release calendar below
Dhurandhar: January 2026
Border 2: 23 January, 2026 (Republic Day Weekend)
Tu Meri Main Tera, Main Tera Tu Meri: 13 February, 2026 (Valentines Day Weekend)
Cocktail 2: To Be Decided
Mardaani 3: 27 February, 2026 (Holi)
Toxic: 19 March, 2026 (Eid Weekend)
Total Dhamaal: March, 2026 (Eid Weekend)
Peddi: 27 March, 2026
Bhoot Bangla: 02 April, 2026 (Good Friday)
Awarapan 2: 03 April, 2026 (Good Friday)
Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai: 10 April, 2026 (Ambedkar Jayanti)
Raja Shivaji: 01 May, 2026 (Labour Day/Maharashtra Day)
Vvan: 15 May, 2026
Love & War: To Be Decided
Dragon: 25, June 2026.
Ranger: To Be Decided
Salman Khan's Next: To Be Decided
The Odyssey: 17 July, 2026
Spider-Man: Brand New Day: 24 July, 2026
Fauji: To Be Decided
Jailer 2: 14 August, 2026 (Independence Day Weekend)
Nagzilla: 14 August, 2026 (Independence Day Weekend)
King: To Be Decided
Drishyam 3: 02 October, 2026 (Gandhi Jayanti)
Ramayana: Part 1: 06 November, 2026 (Diwali Weekend)
Chamunda: 04 December, 2026
Avengers: Doomsday: 18 December, 2026
Dadasaheb Phalke Biopic: 25 December, 2026 (Christmas Weekend)
Mahavatar: 25 December, 2026 (Christmas Weekend)
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