MUMBAI, India | September 24, 2026 —
This Friday could turn into one of September’s most crowded theatrical battles.
Four fresh releases arrive on September 25: The Vvaan: Force of the Forrest, Avengers: Endgame Encore, Mahakavya Shri Ramayan Katha and Brad Pitt’s Heart of the Beast.
Yet these films are not entering an empty market.
Nani’s The Paradise opens a day earlier on September 24. Hanuman Ansh continues its remarkable seventh-week run. Mirzapur: The Movie remains active, while Mandaadi, Resident Evil, VIBE and Daayra are also still fighting for showtimes.
So the real contest is not limited to opening-day collections.
The bigger question is which films can secure enough screens, hold premium formats, attract walk-in audiences and carry momentum through the weekend.
The Vvaan Faces the Biggest Test Among New Hindi Releases
Sidharth Malhotra and Tamannaah Bhatia lead The Vvaan: Force of the Forrest, one of Friday’s most prominent Hindi theatrical releases.
Directed by Deepak Kumar Mishra, the film blends folklore, supernatural mystery, fantasy, adventure and action.
The story revolves around an ancient forest, inherited land and forces linked to a forbidden space that villagers have long feared.
That gives The Vvaan a very different identity from the crime dramas and straightforward action titles that have dominated recent weeks.
BookMyShow lists its theatrical release for September 25, with a runtime of about two hours and 17 minutes.
Its early tracked advance-booking numbers have been modest, which places greater importance on Friday reviews, morning occupancy and walk-in business.
If audience response turns positive, the film could grow after its first few shows.
Endgame Encore Returns With More Than Nostalgia
Marvel’s challenger is unusual because audiences already know the movie.
Avengers: Endgame Encore brings the blockbuster back to Indian cinemas, but the new theatrical run includes an exclusive look at Avengers: Doomsday.
That extra Marvel material is helping turn what could have been an ordinary re-release into an event for franchise fans.
Advance booking already shows notable demand.
Latest tracking puts Friday’s advance gross at roughly ₹4.66 crore including blocked seats and around ₹3.74 crore excluding blocked inventory.
The same tracking data showed more than one lakh tickets booked when blocked seats were excluded.
Premium screens are especially important to the film.
IMAX, 4DX, Dolby and other high-end formats are contributing heavily to advance sales, giving Endgame Encore a strong position in the competition for high-value screens.
Ramayan Targets a Completely Different Audience
Friday’s clash also includes Mahakavya Shri Ramayan Katha.
The mythological film arrives in Hindi and Chhattisgarhi on September 25 and features Dev Sharma as Shri Ram and Anjali Arora as Sita. Rajniesh Duggal and Nirbhay Wadhwa also appear in the cast.
With a runtime of almost three hours, the film presents the Ramayana for a new theatrical audience.
Its potential audience differs sharply from Marvel’s premium-format crowd and The Vvaan’s fantasy-thriller viewers.
There is another reason exhibitors may watch this title carefully.
Hanuman Ansh has already shown that devotional and spiritual cinema can generate sustained theatrical interest.
That does not mean Mahakavya Shri Ramayan Katha will automatically follow the same commercial path, but it confirms that faith-led family audiences remain relevant at the current box office.
Brad Pitt Brings Hollywood Survival Drama
The fourth notable September 25 release is Heart of the Beast.
Brad Pitt stars in the David Ayer-directed survival thriller as a former military operative stranded in the Alaskan wilderness with his dog after a plane crash.
The film runs for approximately one hour and 45 minutes, making it shorter than several competing releases.
Its advance booking in India remains considerably smaller than Avengers: Endgame Encore.
The latest tracked figure showed about ₹10.47 lakh gross in Friday advance sales including blocked seats at the measured stage.
Still, Hollywood releases do not always depend entirely on broad nationwide advance booking.
Urban markets, premium screens, reviews and same-day ticket purchases could play a larger role for Heart of the Beast.
Brad Pitt’s star appeal also gives the film a clear identity among metropolitan viewers.
The Paradise Complicates Friday’s Screen Equation
The biggest threat to Friday’s newcomers may come from a film that releases one day earlier.
Nani’s The Paradise reaches theatres on Thursday, September 24.
Directed by Srikanth Odela, the period action drama reunites the actor and filmmaker after Dasara.
The film entered release week with strong pre-release interest and has opened across multiple languages.
By the time Friday’s new titles begin their first full day, exhibitors will already have a full day of audience response and collection trends from The Paradise.
That timing matters.
If Thursday’s word of mouth is strong, theatres may prefer to retain its productive shows rather than hand them over to Friday releases.
If its response softens, those screens could quickly shift toward stronger newcomers.
Hanuman Ansh Remains the Wild Card
Then there is Hanuman Ansh, which continues to behave unlike a normal seventh-week release.
The film earned an estimated ₹4 crore India net on its 48th theatrical day.
That kind of late-run business makes screen reduction difficult.
Normally, older films surrender shows when major new titles arrive.
But exhibitors are unlikely to remove a movie aggressively if it is still generating meaningful ticket sales.
For that reason, Hanuman Ansh remains part of the September 25 battle even though it is not a fresh release.
Mirzapur Still Holds Ground
Mirzapur: The Movie creates another layer of pressure.
Trade estimates have already placed its India net collection above ₹200 crore, and the film continues to earn during its third week.
Its screen count is likely to fall when Friday’s new movies arrive.
However, cinemas where the film continues to perform well may keep a meaningful number of shows.
That means new releases cannot assume that all older screens will automatically become available.
This Is Really a Battle Between Different Audiences
Friday’s theatrical slate is unusual because each major film is chasing a different type of viewer.
The Vvaan brings Hindi fantasy, folklore and supernatural adventure.
Avengers: Endgame Encore targets Marvel fans and premium-format audiences.
Mahakavya Shri Ramayan Katha aims for mythology and family viewers.
Heart of the Beast brings Hollywood survival drama and Brad Pitt’s star power.
The Paradise carries Nani’s action audience into the weekend.
Hanuman Ansh continues drawing a devotional audience.
And Mirzapur: The Movie still has an established theatrical base.
Because of that segmentation, different films could perform strongly in different cities, languages and theatre formats without producing one uniform national pattern.
Advance Booking Gives Endgame the Clearest Early Signal
Among the currently available advance-sales figures, Avengers: Endgame Encore has established the strongest documented pre-release signal.
But advance booking alone does not decide the weekend.
Hindi releases frequently depend more heavily on spot bookings and word of mouth, especially outside premium multiplex markets.
That makes Friday morning crucial for The Vvaan.
The same applies to Mahakavya Shri Ramayan Katha, where family and devotional audiences may respond differently from franchise-driven advance-booking crowds.
Heart of the Beast, meanwhile, could rely disproportionately on metropolitan markets and premium formats.
Friday’s First Shows Could Reshape the Entire Weekend
The real picture will begin forming with morning occupancy on September 25.
After that, reviews and audience reactions will influence afternoon and evening bookings.
Exhibitors can also adjust show allocations heading into Saturday.
A film that begins quietly but receives strong word of mouth can gain screens, while a title with a large opening allocation can lose shows if demand falls short.
By Sunday night, the market should look far clearer.
What is already clear is that September 25 will be anything but a routine Friday at the Indian box office.
A new Hindi fantasy, a Marvel theatrical return, a major mythology release and a Brad Pitt survival drama are entering cinemas almost together.
At the same time, The Paradise, Hanuman Ansh and Mirzapur: The Movie are already occupying valuable screen space.
For audiences, that means more choice.
For theatres, it means constant screen-allocation decisions.
And for the box office, it sets up one of the most crowded weekends of the month.
