Dhurandhar 2, Stree 2 See 75–80 Per Cent Occupancy In Paid Previews; Can Akshay Kumar's Bhooth Bangla Claim The Soft Thursday Slot?

Paid

previews are back in trend. While the South cinema and Hollywood audience were accustomed to watching movies a day before the rest of the world, the Hindi market is warming up to it again. Aditya Dhar’s Dhurandhar: The Revenge opened new doors for filmmakers and theatre owners to consider experimenting with paid previews for major titles. Amid a good pre-release buzz, the makers of Akshay Kumar’s Bhooth Bangla announced paid previews starting at 9 PM on April 16. The response to it has been positive. Paid previews are not just an added advantage in terms of ticket sales, but also for fueling excitement and spreading word-of-mouth for the film.

Paid preview trend makes comeback

Before Dhurandhar 2, Aamir Khan’s 3 Idiots, Shah Rukh Khan-Deepika Padukone’s Chennai Express and Shraddha Kapoor and Rajkummar Rao’s Stree 2 earned well through paid previews. While the Ranveer Singh-led espionage thriller topped them all, Stree 2 also added a substantial amount to its first weekend’s total. Observing the monetary side of paid previews, Ashish Misra, Head of Commercialisation, Cinepolis India, told Zoom exclusively that Hindi cinema is catching up on paid previews, which have been part of the release playbook in South Indian and Hollywood markets for years.

Paid previews no longer experiment

Talking about the encouraging trend set by Dhurandhar 2 and Stree 2, he shared, “Dhurandhar 2 ran over 12,000 paid preview shows across the country, a scale that matches the full release day of most Hindi films. Stree 2 collected around 9 crore net from previews in 2024. Dhurandhar 2 did nearly five times that. For Hindi cinema, paid previews are no longer an experiment. They are becoming the first act of the box office story.”

Dhurandhar 2, Stree 2 saw 75 to 80 per cent occupancy during paid previews

Lauding Dhurandhar 2 for the revenue boost with its paid preview, Gautam Dutta, CEO, Revenue and Operations, PVR INOX Ltd, decoded how paid previews offer a meaningful share of early profits - ‘especially for films with strong anticipation’. He revealed that the theatre chain sold more than 2 lakh tickets for the paid preview of Aditya Dhar’s film, which he felt was ‘truly impressive and showed their real value as a revenue boost, even before the main release cycle begins.’ For Dutta, evening shows help drive strong footfalls and amplify their impact. Dutta revealed high-demand titles like Dhurandhar: The Revenge and Stree 2, saw 75 to 80 per cent occupancy during preview screenings which is exceptional for what is essentially an evening-only window. Ashish Misra further added, “Dhurandhar 2's preview collections of approximately Rs 44 crore net exceeded the entire opening day of the original Dhurandhar. That tells you this is not a sideshow. It is a full-scale revenue event.”

Paid preview reduces pressure on opening weekends

Theatres filling up during paid previews is indicative of the fact that Hindi cinema is changing. Box office dynamics are transforming. Agreeing that this trend is benefiting the box office, PVR’s Gautam Dutta shared, “Paid previews will reshape the Indian box office in lasting ways. They help distribute audience footfall more evenly, reduce the pressure on opening weekends, and provide a fairer platform for different kinds of content to find their right target audience. In the long term, this could lead to a more stable and diversified theatrical business.”

Bhuvanesh Mendiratta, MD, Miraj Entertainment Ltd, believed that with early shows, audience response enables sharper show planning and lower risk. He explained in simpler words that paid previews help cinemas maximise revenue, optimise operations, and respond more quickly to audience behaviour. By targeting the ‘soft Thursday slots’, Mendiratta believes even 2–4 extra shows per screen at healthy occupancy can add up to significant incremental collections nationwide. For theatres, paid previews enable premium pricing, lifting average ticket prices, while effectively extending the opening window, increasing overall per-film revenue.

Paid previews are best to gauge audience taste

According to Ashish Misra of Cinepolis, paid previews are here to stay. “There is a clear appetite for exclusive, early experiences,” he said before adding that if thoughtful scheduling and strong content get paid previews, they offer value to both audience and the industry, ‘making them a sustainable trend going forward’. He shared, “Additionally, brands are increasingly leaning into paid previews, as they offer a highly targeted environment with deeper, more meaningful audience engagement.”

Paid preview benefit big films, not smaller ones

Miraj Cinema’s Bhuvanesh Mendiratta agreed that paid previews are great initiatives, but only for big-budget, star-led, and franchise films where there is strong anticipation and audience demand. “For smaller or content-driven films, the model may not always deliver due to price sensitivity in the Indian market,” he concluded.

Ticket prices also play an important role in determining the box office collection. Dhurandhar 2, being one of the highly anticipated films of 2026, sold tickets at Rs 3000 and plus in metro cities. Despite this, the audience did not hold back. Similarly, for Stree 2. The ticket prices crossed the Rs 1000 mark, but premium theatres went houseful. Changing the pattern, Bhooth Bangla’s paid preview tickets are fairly cheaper. Will these mean more footfall? Let’s wait and watch to determine what works in favour of paid previews – expensive or economic ticket prices.