Last year, Cinepolis released The Taj Story; this year, it took a bigger swing by picking up the theatrical rights to Hanuman Ansh before the devotional drama became a sleeper blockbuster. That bet has now produced one of the standout distribution stories of the year: a release that began with about 200 screens and has expanded to roughly 2,000 to 2,200 screens across the country.
A bet before the breakout
Expectations around Hanuman Ansh were minimal when Cinepolis acquired the rights. Ashish Misra, Head of Commercialisation at Cinepolis India, told Bollywood Hungama that distribution decisions at the chain are “data-driven,” not emotional, and that the team liked the film and its story enough to bring it to Indian audiences.
The release began modestly. “We started small, with around 200 screens,” Misra said. The first two weeks were not as strong as expected, but once audiences discovered the film, the run accelerated and eventually expanded to around 2,000 to 2,200 screens.
What made the film travel
Misra framed the distribution question simply: can this film be taken to a wider audience? For Hanuman Ansh, the chain’s checklist came back positive.
- Great music
- A strong storyline
- Powerful content
That checklist matters because it explains how Cinepolis approached a sleeper hit. The chain was not chasing an opening weekend; it was backing a film that could keep growing once word of mouth took over. A limited release gave Hanuman Ansh room to build, and the screen count rose only after audience demand became visible.
The holdover test and the Telugu test
The film’s staying power showed again this past weekend, when it remained steady despite the arrival of Drishyam The Conclusion. With a big-ticket release in cinemas, show counts for holdover films naturally shrink, Misra noted, but Hanuman Ansh still performed impressively with limited shows and was the second-best performer of the weekend after Drishyam The Conclusion.
Next comes the Telugu market. Hombale Films is set to release Hanuman Ansh in Telugu on October 9, and Misra said it will be interesting to see how the film performs there. On a possible sequel, he said the second part has not been made yet, so it is too early to take a call, though Cinepolis would be open to associating with it.
Source: bollywoodHungama.com