BY SACNILK

Mumbai, June 16 - Bollywood superstar Ranbir Kapoor has achieved another major milestone in his career by securing a place in TIME magazine's prestigious 100 Most Influential People list for 2026. The actor emerged as the only Indian film star featured on this year's global list, marking a significant moment for Indian cinema on the international stage. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}) TIME magazine recognised Ranbir Kapoor for his growing influence in global entertainment, his powerful performances, and his contribution to redefining contemporary Indian cinema. The recognition comes after the massive success of films like Animal and the worldwide anticipation surrounding his upcoming epic Ramayana. Actor Ayushmann Khurrana penned a heartfelt tribute for Kapoor in the magazine, describing him as "a symbol of the evolving India — rooted in emotion, yet fearless in ambition." He praised Ranbir's ability to balance commercial success with meaningful storytelling, calling him one of the most versatile actors of his generation. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}) Over the years, Ranbir Kapoor has built a reputation for delivering critically acclaimed performances in films such as Rockstar, Barfi!, Sanju, and Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani. His ability to portray emotionally layered characters has earned him both audience admiration and industry respect. Ranbir Kapoor's inclusion in the TIME 100 list reflects the growing global recognition of Indian cinema and its artists. As Bollywood continues to expand its international reach, Kapoor's achievement stands as a proud moment for the Indian entertainment industry. With several ambitious projects lined up for the future, Ranbir Kapoor's influence appears set to grow even further, solidifying his position as one of India's most impactful cinematic voices.

BY SACNILK

Mumbai, May 25 - The Indian box office was heavily tilted towards regional cinema during the May 22-24 weekend, with the strong debut Malayalam blockbuster Drishyam 3 and Marathi film Deool Band 2, as regional films comfortably outperformed Bollywood releases for the second weekend in a row. On top of that, Suriya's Karuppu continued to attract strong footfalls in the second weekend, also after the blockbuster opening frame. Drishyam 3 Continues Franchise Legacy With Blockbuster Debut (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}) The third instalment in director Jeethu Joseph's crime thriller franchise once again stayed true to the franchise legacy after an excellent opening weekend at the Indian box office. After the huge opening day upon its Thursday release, Drishyam 3 continued its phenomenal run across Kerala and other domestic markets over the weekend despite mixed word of mouth. Drishyam 3 continued to benefit from the franchise value as Drishyam 3 is easily the biggest film series to come out of Malayalam cinema. It scored the second biggest opening day, followed by the second biggest weekend for a Malayalam trend, and advances for Monday indicate that the film is up for a solid run, especially in Kerala. Karuppu Maintains Excellent Momentum (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}) Suriya's fantasy action drama Karuppu remained the top choice at the Tamil Nadu box office for the second weekend in a row, after scoring one of the biggest 2nd weekend for a Tamil film. Backed by excellent audience response, the movie continued its successful theatrical journey and moved closer to new worldwide milestones. During the weekend, RJ Balaji's directorial entered the 100 crores gross club in Tamil Nadu, making it the first instance for a Suriya-starrer, thus creating history for the actor. It also went past 200 crores gross at the global box office, which is also the first time for the Singam actor, as the film continues to reach new milestones. Deool Band 2 Emerges As A Surprise Winner (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}) The Marathi devotional drama Deool Band 2 sustained its superb trend at the box office with excellent occupancy in Maharashtra in the first weekend. Family audiences continued to support the film in large numbers, helping it dominate several centres despite competition from bigger releases. The film has now emerged as one of the breakout successes of the month. Chand Mera Dil Underperforms As Pati Patni Aur Woh Do Holds Steady Dharma Production's romantic drama, Chand Mera Dil, starring Lakshya and Ananya Panday, failed to generate the expected theatrical momentum. Despite a decent, visible promotional campaign, the film struggled against the dominance of regional cinema due to mixed word of mouth. Although there was some improvement over the weekend, the overall box office performance remained below expectations. Ayushmann Khurrana's romantic-comedy entertainer, Pati Patni Aur Woh Do managed to maintain a decent hold on low levels during the weekend, especially in multiplex-heavy urban centres. While the overall collections remained low, the film managed to escape the free fall due to limited competition despite mixed word of mouth. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}) Top 5 Weekend Grossers At Indian Box Office (May 22-24) S. No. Movie Weekend Collection Total Domestic Collection 1 Drishyam 3 ₹ 45.00 Cr ₹ 63.35 Cr 2 Karuppu ₹ 40.55 Cr ₹ 172.40 Cr 3 Deool Band 2 ₹ 15.70 Cr ₹ 18.60 Cr 4 Chand Mera Dil ₹ 13.25 Cr ₹ 13.25 Cr 5 Pati Patni Aur Woh Do ₹ 8.80 Cr ₹ 43.25 Cr Note: Gross collection*

BY SACNILK

Mumbai, May 25 - Most movie love stories are simple. Boy meets girl, they fall in love, and they live happily ever after. Bollywood romantic comedies usually follow this sweet rule. But sometimes, a twist arrives, and that's where things get messed up, bringing heartbreak and pain of not getting the love character wanted. Maddock Films' upcoming romantic comedy Cocktail 2 is one of the most-anticipated films. Starring Shahid Kapoor, Rashmika Mandanna, and Kriti Sanon, it is reportedly a twisted love story unlike the first film, where two girls fought over one guy. The movie is scheduled to release on June 19 amid growing anticipation. Here are five twisted love triangle stories to watch before Cocktail 2. 1. Bareilly Ki Barfi: A Web of False Identities (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}) Where to Watch - ZEE5, Prime Video Starring Ayushmann Khurrana, Kriti Sanon, and Rajkumar Rao, the movie shows what happens when a small lie grows too big to control. A free-spirited girl named Bitti falls in love with a book. She wants to find the author because she thinks he understands her perfectly. The man who actually wrote the book is Chirag. He is too scared to admit it, so he makes his shy friend, Pritam, pretend to be the author. Bitti falls for the fake author, Chirag gets jealous of his own creation, and Pritam gets caught in the middle. It is a funny game of musical chairs where everyone is lying. 2. Tanu Weds Manu Returns: Loving a Ghost from the Past (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}) Where to Watch - Apple TV+ What happens when you fall out of love with your wife, only to fall in love with someone who looks exactly like her? This sequel follows Manu (R. Madhavan), whose marriage to the fiery Tanu (Kangana Ranaut) has completely fallen apart. While planning a divorce, Manu meets Datto, a young sports student who is a carbon copy of his wife. He decides to marry Datto to start over. However, the original Tanu returns right before the wedding to claim her husband back, creating a hilarious and chaotic showdown between the past and the present. 3. Dostana: The Fake Relationship Trap (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}) Where to Watch - Netflix, Prime Video Two straight men living in Miami find the ultimate dream apartment, but there is a major catch - the landlady only wants female or gay roommates to protect her niece, Neha (Priyanka Chopra). Desperate for a place to live, Sam (Abhishek Bachchan) and Kunal (John Abraham) pretend to be a gay couple. The plan backfires completely when both men fall deeply in love with Neha. They are forced to actively maintain their fake relationship while secretly sabotaging each other's attempts to win Neha’s heart, creating a hilarious cycle of lies and jealousy. 4. Hasee Toh Phasee: Swapping Sisters Before the Wedding (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}) Where to Watch - Netflix, Prime Video Nikhil (Siddharth Anand) is a struggling businessman who is just days away from marrying his demanding fiancée, Karishma (Adah Sharma). Everything changes when Karishma's eccentric, genius sister, Meeta (Parineeti Chopra), suddenly bursts back into the family home after years of being estranged. Nikhil is tasked with keeping an eye on Meeta to keep her out of trouble. Instead, as he spends time with her, he finds himself falling for her quirky charm. He faces the ultimate awkward dilemma of realising he is marrying the wrong sister right as the wedding countdown begins. 5. Cocktail: When Friendship and Love Collide (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}) Where to Watch - ZEE5 This movie looks at how a love triangle can ruin a perfect friendship. Veronica (Deepika Padukone) is a rich, wild party girl who takes in a shy, traditional girl named Meera (Diana Penty). They become best friends and share a beautiful apartment. Enter Gautam (Saif Ali Khan), a charming playboy who starts dating Veronica. The three live together like a happy family until Gautam realises he actually has deeper feelings for Meera. The movie tracks the painful choices they have to make when love threatens to tear best friends apart.

BY SACNILK

Mumbai, May 18 - The Indian box office has been killing this week, thanks to Tamil star Suriya's Karuppu, which was all in its glory during its opening weekend. The action drama emerged as the undisputed winner during the May 15-17 weekend by a huge margin, followed by an impressive debut of the Malayalam film, Athiradi, while holdovers continue to earn steadily. Karuppu Continues Rampage At The Box Office (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}) Directed by RJ Balaji, Karuppu dominated the weekend with a massive around 79 crores gross in its 3-day weekend, comfortably outperforming every other release in the market, and emerging as Suriya's biggest opener to date. The film benefited from strong pre-release buzz, excellent word-of-mouth, and packed shows across Tamil Nadu and overseas territories. Karuppu has already emerged as the highest-grossing Tamil movie of 2026 at the domestic as well as worldwide box office. The movie has had its struggles before release, but once it hit the big screens, the film responded with packed houses, and continues to do so on its first Monday. Pati Patni Aur Woh Do Scores A Mixed Weekend (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}) This week's Bollywood release, Pati Patni Aur Woh Do, starring Ayushmann Khurrana, Wamiqa Gabbi, Rakul Preet Singh and Sara Ali Khan, had an average weekend. The sequel to 2019's hit failed to create pre-release buzz, which reflected in the poor opening of 4.80 crores gross. It was looking difficult for the film after such a start, but it did show some sign of rebound by jumping over Saturday and Sunday; however, the overall collection remained on the lower side, 21 crore gross collection. It needs to be seen how the movie fares during weekdays, which is crucial, considering the big budget. Athiradi Posts Strong Numbers Malayalam entertainer Athiradi, starring Tovino Thomas and Basil Joseph, secured the second position with 17.35 crore gross Friday to Sunday. At the same time, it minted 24.40 crores gross in the 4-day extended weekend (including paid previews). The film witnessed healthy occupancy in Kerala and also did decently in the rest of India market amid intense competition. Raja Shivaji Maintains Superb Hold (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}) Riteish Deshmukh's historical epic Raja Shivaji continued its solid theatrical run by collecting 9+ crore gross over the weekend. Despite entering the later stages of its run, the Marathi blockbuster is still drawing solid footfalls in Maharashtra circuits. With this, it has topped 100 crores gross and has become only the second Marathi film of all time to do so. Krishnavataram and Michael Stay Steady Devotional drama Krishnavataram had a strong hold this weekend, 8 crore gross. Meanwhile, Michael added another 5.25 crore gross, managing to retain a decent presence despite competition from bigger releases. The combined gross of these five movies during the weekend was 125+ crores gross at the Indian box office, which is a solid result, with Karuppu delivering the lion's share by emerging as a certified blockbuster. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}) Top 5 Box Office Weekend Grossers (May 15-17) S. No. Movie 1st Language Weekend Collection Total India Gross 1 Karuppu Tamil ₹ 78.75 Cr ₹ 78.75 Cr 2 Pati Patni Aur Woh Do Hindi ₹ 21.00 Cr ₹ 21.00 Cr 3 Athiradi Malayalam ₹ 17.35 Cr ₹ 24.40 Cr 4 Raja Shivaji Marathi ₹ 9.00 Cr ₹ 100.10 Cr 5 Krishnavataram Hindi ₹ 8.00 Cr ₹ 24.00 Cr Note: Gross collection*

BY SACNILK

Mumbai, May 14 - Ayushmann Khurrana is stepping back into the commercial rom-comedy space with Pati Patni Aur Woh Do, co-starring Wamiqa Gabbi, Rakul Preet Singh, and Sara Ali Khan. Directed by Mudassar Aziz, the film banks on chaotic relationship comedy, confusion-driven humour, and family entertainment. There was a time when sequels were box office guarantees, but things are not the same in the present scenario, especially for a non-star film. The recent trends indicate that the films which failed to take a decent start stuggled in their box office, and the opening day prospects aren't looking good for PPAWD, which is heading towards the opening of five crore net range. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}) Directed by Mudassar Aziz, Pati Patni Aur Woh Do has struggled to create even decent pre-release excitement right from its announcement phase. Despite being a sequel to a commercially successful rom-com, the film's reveal arrived in a surprisingly low-key manner and failed to spark major social media conversation or audience curiosity. In today's theatrical landscape, sequel announcements often trend instantly with posters, teasers, motion videos, or surprise casting reveals. However, Pati Patni Aur Woh Do largely came without generating that "event film" feeling. The announcement lacked a strong promotional hook, which immediately affected the film's early buzz cycle. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}) That muted response has continued into the marketing phase as well. Months after the announcement, the film still hasn't built widespread anticipation among audiences, especially compared to other upcoming Bollywood sequels. The absence of aggressive promotions, viral music, or high-energy campaigns has made the sequel feel unusually quiet for a commercial rom-com. More importantly, PPAWD looks more like a studio-driven extension of a successful title rather than a film audiences were actively demanding. The original Pati Patni Aur Woh worked because of its fresh humour, entertaining performances, and surprise factor, which is clearly missing in the upcoming film. As a result, the film is increasingly looking like another word-of-mouth-dependent theatrical release, and that is going to decide its fate.

BY SACNILK

Ayushmann Khurrana is returning to a familiar space with the release of Pati Patni Aur Woh Do this Friday, May 15. This sequel to the 2019 hit is arriving with a fair amount of curiosity, especially given the rare partnership between Zee Studios and T-Series for its nationwide distribution. Joining Ayushmann in this chaotic romantic comedy are Sara Ali Khan, Wamiqa Gabbi, and Rakul Preet Singh, forming an ensemble that looks promising on paper. The film has received a UA 16+ rating with a concise runtime of one hour and fifty-seven minutes, which should help in maintaining a high show count. Since the pandemic, Ayushmann's box office run has been a mix of massive hits and niche experiments. His last outing, Thama, set a very high benchmark, becoming his most successful film to date by a wide margin. To give you some context on how his films have fared lately, here is a look at his top-performing movies in the post-pandemic era based on their India net collections. Top 5 Movies of Ayushmann Khurrana - India Net Collection (Post-COVID)MOVIE NAMEINDIA NET COLLECTIONThama (2025)₹ 187.59 CrDream Girl 2 (2023)₹ 142.20 CrDoctor G (2022)₹ 44.00 CrChandigarh Kare Aashiqui (2021)₹ 30.20 CrAn Action Hero (2022)₹ 16.85 Cr (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}) The romantic comedy genre has seen a significant revival in recent years, with several films crossing the 100-crore mark through strong word-of-mouth and relatable storytelling. For Pati Patni Aur Woh Do to find its footing, it will have to compete with the expectations set by recent genre-leaders. The following list highlights the top five highest-grossing romantic comedies released after the pandemic: Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani: ₹357.50 Cr Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar: ₹223.00 Cr Dream Girl 2: ₹142.20 Cr Jugjugg Jeeyo: ₹139.50 Cr Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya: ₹139.00 Cr When we look at the ground reality of the advance bookings, the buzz for Pati Patni Aur Woh Do appears to be a bit muted compared to its predecessor. As of May 14 at 11:40 AM, the film has managed to sell approximately 5,880 tickets across the three major national cinema chains—PVR, INOX, and Cinepolis. This early interest has generated a gross of about 18.8 lakh for the opening day. In terms of how these sales are spread out, PVR is currently in the lead with around 3,160 tickets, followed by INOX with roughly 2,550 tickets. Cinepolis has seen a slower start with about 170 tickets sold so far. These numbers suggest that the movie is largely counting on the walk-in audience and a strong word-of-mouth surge to pick up the pace once it hits theaters tomorrow. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}) Looking at the current trends, the film is expected to open in the range of 4 to 5 crore net at the Indian box office. This would place it significantly lower than the prequel, which had opened to a solid 9.1 crore net back in 2019. It also falls behind Ayushmann's traditional top openers, where his recent blockbuster Thama led the charts with a massive 24-crore start. Here is a look at his career-best opening day collections to see where the current prediction stands. Ayushmann Khurrana's Top 5 Opening Day Net CollectionsMOVIE NAMEOPENING DAY NETThama (2025)₹ 24.00 CrDream Girl 2 (2023)₹ 10.69 CrBala (2019)₹ 10.15 CrDream Girl (2019)₹ 10.05 CrShubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan (2020)₹ 9.55 Cr If the film opens within the predicted 4 to 5 crore bracket, it will likely rank alongside his mid-range openers like Doctor G or Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui in terms of initial momentum. The 2019 original ended its run with a worldwide gross of 109 crore and an India net of 84.56 crore, earning a hit status. For the sequel to replicate that success, it will rely heavily on spot bookings and a strong jump in collections over the weekend. The shorter runtime should prove beneficial for theaters to squeeze in more shows if the walk-in audience begins to show up after the initial reviews.