What was once poised to be a blockbuster-packed December for Hindi cinema has now turned into a strategic shuffle of release dates and studio manoeuvres. The month that promised back-to-back theatrical fireworks is now a chessboard of shifting premieres and tactical delays.
Still standing firm amid the turbulence is Ranveer Singh’s adrenaline-charged actioner ‘Dhurandhar’, locked in for December 5. But uncertainty looms over Junaid Khan’s debut film ‘Mere Raho’, co-starring Sai Pallavi. Initially slated for December 12, the silence from its makers has sparked buzz about a possible delay. If it stays on course, it’ll go head-to-head with Kapil Sharma’s sequel ‘Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon 2’, setting the stage for a box office face-off that may force one contender to retreat.
Meanwhile, the coveted Christmas slot has become a battleground. ‘Alpha’, the high-octane thriller featuring Alia Bhatt, Sharvari Wagh and Bobby Deol, has bowed out, citing VFX refinements and rescheduling to April 17, 2026. Wasting no time, Dinesh Vijan swooped in with ‘Ikkis’, a war biopic helmed by Sriram Raghavan and starring Agastya Nanda, to be released on 25 December. But the date didn’t stay uncontested for long – Karan Johar’s quirky romantic comedy ‘Tu Meri Main Tera, Main Tera Tu Meri’, led by Kartik Aaryan and Ananya
Panday, has now claimed December 25, aiming to ride the festive wave of family audiences.
And the reshuffling continues. The gritty crime saga ‘Dacait’, starring Mrunal Thakur, Adivi Sesh and Anurag Kashyap, has exited the holiday corridor and rescheduled its arrival for March 19, 2026 adding yet another twist to Bollywood’s ever-evolving release calendar.
