King Christmas Screen War: Shah Rukh Khan’s Film Seeks More Screens Than Avengers, Dune and Jumanji Combined

The Christmas 2026 screen war has started weeks before any of the films release. According to a Bollywood Hungama scoop published on November 3, Pen Marudhar, the distributor of Shah Rukh Khan’s King, has reached out to exhibitors to secure a wide release for the film on December 24 and has asked them to work out a showcasing strategy that prioritises King over Avengers: Doomsday, Dune: Part Three and Jumanji: Open World combined — summed up in the trade line doing the rounds, “King Akela Hi Kaafi Hai”, or “King alone is enough”. Disney, meanwhile, has already started booking screens in India for Avengers: Doomsday and is aiming for a strict contract guaranteeing a specified number of shows for the superhero epic on Christmas Day.

The calendar explains why both sides are fighting this early. Avengers: Doomsday is set for a December 17 opening, Dune: Part Three follows on December 18, King arrives on December 24 and Jumanji: Open World on December 25, so four of the year’s biggest titles will be chasing the same screens inside a single holiday week. King marks Shah Rukh Khan’s return to the big screen after three years, since Dunki in 2023, and it is his second film with Pathaan director Siddharth Anand. The cast includes Deepika Padukone, Suhana Khan and Abhishek Bachchan, and the film is produced through Red Chillies Entertainment and Marflix Pictures.

The overseas stakes are just as high. Pinkvilla reported on October 30 that Phars Films has boarded King as overseas distributor with a minimum guarantee of Rs 175 crore, an unprecedented figure for an Indian film. To recover that investment, trade estimates suggest King will need an overseas gross in the region of Jawan and Pathaan, around USD 48 to 50 million — a target made harder by the Hollywood tentpoles sharing its Christmas window.

Here is the Filmverse take: this is not really a fight about one film versus three, because no exhibitor can give King more shows than three major releases combined and still keep those releases happy — it is a negotiating posture, and a revealing one. Pen Marudhar is telling exhibitors that King, not the Hollywood titles, is the film Indian single screens and Hindi multiplex tracks should build their Christmas week around, while Disney is telling them the opposite with a contract. The exhibitors caught in the middle will do what they always do: give the opening weekend to whoever sells tickets fastest, then rebalance by Monday.

Sources: Bollywood Hungama, MensXP, Pinkvilla.