TMMTMTTM’ release advanced by a week: Reports
Kartik Aaryan will take on Agastya Nanda at the box office this Christmas season. Initially slated for a December 31 release, Kartik Aaryan and Ananya Panday’s romantic comedy Tu Meri Main Tera, Main Tera Tu Meri will now hit theatres a week earlier. The decision was taken soon after Yash Raj Films announced the postponement of Alia Bhatt’s Alpha, which was initially scheduled for a Dec 25 release.
Agastya Nanda’s first theatrical outing — the war drama Ikkis — is also set to release on Christmas. “Filmmakers are always looking for a lucrative window to release their films. Festivals and long weekends draw audiences in. Films like Dhoom 3, PK, Animal, all released around this time and did well, running well into the new year,” says film trade expert Atul Mohan.
Film expert Girish Wankhede adds, “Films of different tones can coexist because they appeal to distinct audience segments and viewing moods, and many cinema-goers watch multiple films during festivals. With targeted marketing and smart exhibitor negotiations, both films can carve out their own niches and benefit from the overall surge in box-office demand.”
However, Mohan makes an interesting observation — the big Diwali releases, once a calendar event in Bollywood led by the Khans, Akshay Kumar and Ajay Devgn, may have changed course. He references the latest Diwali releases: Ayushmann Khurrana’s Thamma clashing with Harshvardhan Rane’s Deewaniyat.
“The industry veterans are on the back foot, as youngsters are now leading the festival releases. Earlier, Diwali titles would be locked in advance. It was the much-awaited clash. But this year, both Thamma and Deewaniyat, though atypical titles, managed to hold fort. Thamma just about broke even, while Deewaniyat recovered more than its cost. The same pattern will unfold this Christmas, with Kartik Aaryan and Agastya Nanda headlining the two films,” he predicts.
Meanwhile, with the rescheduling of Alpha and also Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Love and War — now moved from April 2026 to August 2026 — the trend of strategic release planning continues.
“Everyone wants their films to do well. YRF pushed Alpha since they felt the product needed more work. Sanjay Leela Bhansali does not like being rushed and works at his own pace. He had his reasons to push back the release by a few months,” adds a trade insider.
