Can blockbuster films bring more brands to the big screen in 2026?

With a line-up of big-ticket theatrical releases scheduled through 2026, the cinema advertising ecosystem is seeing renewed optimism. Exhibitors, media planners and brands are closely watching whether large-scale theatrical footfalls driven by tentpole films can help bring advertisers back to the big screen and strengthen cinema’s role within the broader media mix.

After a prolonged period of volatility following the pandemic, cinema advertising had struggled with inconsistent releases and uneven audience turnout. However, industry stakeholders believe the upcoming pipeline of major films across Hindi, regional and Hollywood titles could restore advertiser confidence and revive interest in cinema as a high-impact branding platform.

The recovery of cinema advertising has been gradual but visible in industry data. According to the Pitch Madison Advertising Report (PMAR) 2026, cinema advertising expenditure stood at around Rs 877 crore in 2025, up from Rs 851 crore in 2024, with its share of total AdEx stabilising at about 0.8%. However, growth remains below the pre-pandemic peak of Rs 1,045 crore in 2019, when cinema accounted for a 1.5% share of total ad spend. Revenues had sharply declined to Rs 182 crore in 2020 and Rs 136 crore in 2021 as theatres remained shut, before rebounding to Rs 568 crore in 2022 and rising further to Rs 776 crore in 2023.

Read: Cinema advertising stabilises at Rs 877cr in 2025; upcoming releases elevate hope 

Cinema ADEX stabilises at ₹877 crore in 2025, signals post-recovery plateau: PMAR

Industry executives say the next phase of growth could be driven by a strong theatrical pipeline. The upcoming slate includes several high-profile tentpoles expected to drive theatrical footfalls. Dhurandhar 2, starring Ranveer Singh, is among the big releases lined up for 2026, alongside Ramayana Part 1, Nitesh Tiwari’s mythological epic starring Ranbir Kapoor, Sai Pallavi and Yash. Other major titles include Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups, King starring Shah Rukh Khan and Suhana Khan, and Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Love & War with Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt and Vicky Kaushal. These star-driven spectacles are expected to draw audiences back to theatres.

As footfalls grow, advertisers are also reassessing cinema’s role in their media strategy. Experts say cinema advertising is highly film- and region-specific, with brands aligning campaigns to the audience profile of each release. Categories such as automotive, consumer technology, BFSI and premium FMCG continue to dominate spends, while OTT platforms like Netflix and new-age tech brands such as OpenAI, Google and Canva are also exploring cinema to build brand visibility. In tier-two and tier-three markets, local retailers and eateries participate through localised tie-ups with theatres. Several brands including Manyavar, Everest Masala, Vicco, Lyra, Lux Cozi and OnePlus have also maintained a steady presence in cinemas, benefiting from sustained audience recall.

Ashish Misra, Head of Commercialization at Cinepolis India, said the momentum also builds on how the industry closed 2025, with the box office touching a record Rs 13,500 crore. Cinepolis alone served over 40 million guests across its properties, reflecting the scale that is increasingly attracting brands back to the medium.

“It is also worth noting the shift in how advertisers are thinking about cinema. It is no longer just about the pre-show ad reel before a film starts. Cinema offers something that is becoming genuinely scarce in the media landscape: undistracted attention,” he said, adding that people are not scrolling, skipping or multitasking; they are in a focused, lean-forward environment. That makes cinema a fundamentally different proposition compared to most digital and outdoor platforms.

Misra added that Cinepolis’ partnership with It’s Spotlight, which has deployed over 350 digital screens across 101 properties in 63 cities, enables brands to access programmatic buying, real-time optimisation and performance metrics such as impressions, audience profiles and footfall data. He noted that advertiser conversations are shifting from whether to use cinema to how to scale presence across the entire cinema journey.

Tentpole releases, especially during festive weekends, create premium advertising windows with higher occupancy, stronger audience density and longer dwell times, driving demand for both on-screen and in-lobby inventory. While these weekends create spikes, he said the larger opportunity lies in maintaining a consistent brand presence across the cinema ecosystem.

Sachinn Guptaa, Country Head – Enterprise Business at UFO Cine Media Network, said that while big-ticket releases generate excitement, the larger opportunity lies in a steady pipeline of theatrical content through the year. He pointed to a packed slate including Dhurandhar 2, Bhoot Bangla, Dacoit, Toxic, Ramayana, Galwan, Peddi, Paradise, Love and War, Raja Shivaji, Jailer 2, Odyssey, Avengers, Spider-Man, Cocktail, Drishyam 3, King and Mahavatar, noting that such continuity keeps cinema a dependable medium for brands while creating multiple high-attention windows for advertisers.

Guptaa said, “Due to this, a great number of advertisers are turning to cinema as not only an outlet to receive one-time bursts over blockbuster weekends, but as a platform that can be used to receive constant exposure throughout the year.” He added that the big-screen environment offers an immersive, high-attention setting, making cinema an effective platform for brands to drive recall and impact. Advertising inventory in cinemas typically tightens during major release weekends when footfalls surge. 

Girish Johar, Film Expert and Producer, added that pre-show advertising operates within a limited 15–20-minute window, which typically accommodates a couple of trailers and a few minutes of ads, alongside mandatory elements such as the national song in some states.

“On the other side, there is brand demand. If advertisers feel demand is strong and the available time is limited, prices naturally rise because cinemas want to capitalise on that opportunity,” he said, adding that as a result, available inventory is tightly constrained, with pricing usually rising by at least 20% during high-demand periods and potentially increasing further depending on factors such as campaign scale, screen time and advertiser demand.

A revival?

Against this backdrop, industry observers say the sector may be entering the early stages of a recovery. Experts believe early signs of a revival in cinema advertising are already visible. According to them, the momentum is not merely cyclical, driven by a few blockbuster releases, but also reflects deeper structural shifts as brands increasingly recognise the value of cinema’s high-attention, immersive environment within the broader media mix.

Johar expressed optimism that 2026 could emerge as one of Indian cinema’s biggest box-office years, which would in turn drive strong growth in cinema advertising. He added that advertisers closely track film content and audience appeal, choosing to align their campaigns with releases that resonate with their brand positioning and target audience.

Meanwhile, Misra explained, “The content pipeline for 2026 is deep and well-distributed. Strong tentpole releases are spread across the calendar rather than concentrated in one quarter. That matters for advertisers because it means sustained high-footfall windows throughout the year, not just two or three spikes.”

He added that the bigger shift is in how cinema is being repositioned within the broader media mix. The EY-FICCI M&E Report noted that India’s out-of-home advertising market reached Rs 5,920 crore in 2024, with digital OOH expected to grow from 12% to 17% of total OOH revenues by 2027. Within this ecosystem, he said cinema occupies a premium position, offering advertisers a captive audience in a controlled environment with measurable engagement, something traditional outdoor and transit media struggle to replicate.

Guptaa added that the recent success of theatrical releases, along with a strong upcoming film pipeline, is drawing renewed interest from brands. Advertisers, he said, are increasingly recognising cinema’s ability to deliver not just footfalls but also high attention and strong brand recall.

“The presence of the immersive big-screen experience is enabling brands to produce a memorable effect and this is why cinema is becoming a consideration with many marketers again considering it to be an element that is worth including in their media mix,” he concluded.