Bobby Deol’s ‘Bandar’ team halts showcasing in multiplex chains over fewer shows: ‘Not chasing opening-weekend spectacle’ – Report

Bobby Deol-starrer ‘Bandar’, directed by Anurag Kashyap, has landed in a major pre-release tussle with national multiplex chains PVR Inox and Cinepolis over screen allocation. Several movies are clashing at the box office, including ‘Peddi’ (Hindi), ‘Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai’, ‘He-Man And The Masters of The Universe’, and ‘Bandar’. Due to this, the makers of the Bobby Deol starrer decided to take a step and put the film’s shows on hold in national chains.

‘Bandar’ makers ask multiplexes to stop showcasing the film

According to the Bollywood Hungama report, the team was not chasing a wide release but a targeted one. It stated, “The makers of ‘Bandar’ planned for an audience-orientated release, requesting only 4 shows in 5-screen multiplexes and 3 shows in 4-screen plexes post 1 pm, which seems a fair and doable ask. But since PVR Inox and Cinepolis are distributing ‘Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai’ and PVR is partly distributing ‘Peddi’ for Jio Studios, the national chains have allotted unfair shows to ‘Bandar’.“As a result, the film team has asked the big chains not to showcase the movie. The report added, “The Bandar team has taken a firm stance and asked the national chains to put the programming of its film on hold until the showcasing is sorted, especially since the ‘Bandar’ makers believe that the advance sales of ‘Peddi’ and ‘Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai’ are underwhelming.”

Makers of ‘Bandar’ address the issue

Zee Studios Distribution & Revenue Head Girish Johar broke his silence on the standoff, insisting the production house’s demands are perfectly reasonable. He shared, “Our ask is very fair. The producers and us have devised a particular release strategy catering to the core target audience. Accordingly, we had requested cinemas across the country to give us certain allotted shows of the film, that is, 3-4 shows in 5 screens post 1 pm. The duration of the film is also not very long either (130 minutes). We are also aware that there is a heavy rush of releases this week. That is why we didn’t go for a wide release. The plexes are still working on it, and the back-and-forth is still going on.”He further stated that ‘Bandar’ is not chasing opening-weekend spectacle; it is playing a longer game. He said, “We plan to release in 500-600 screens. It’s a smart release strategy. We want to build upon the word of mouth and then increase showcasing, as we believe the film will have long legs at the box office.”

More about ‘Bandar’

Directed by Anurag Kashyap, the film features Bobby Deol, Sanya Malhotra, Sapna Pabbi, Saba Azad, and Jitendra Joshi. The movie is slated to release in theatres today, June 5, 2026.