Even before a single ticket has been sold, Shah Rukh Khan’s King has already made box-office history. Trade reports estimate that the Siddharth Anand-directed action film has secured around ₹665 crore from pre-release rights sales, putting it among the strongest pre-release performers ever seen in Hindi cinema.
The figure comes from domestic and international theatrical agreements together with digital, television and music rights deals, and it has landed just as the film’s Christmas campaign gets underway. King is scheduled to release in cinemas on 24 December 2026, and the industry is already treating it as one of the biggest events of the year.
Where the ₹665 crore comes from
Theatrical agreements make up nearly two-thirds of the total. Pen Marudhar has acquired the domestic theatrical distribution rights for a reported ₹250 crore, while Dubai-based Phars Films has taken the international rights on a minimum guarantee of ₹175 crore. That overseas deal alone is a record — no Indian film had previously sold its foreign rights for more than ₹100 crore.
The non-theatrical business adds another estimated ₹240 crore. Netflix has reportedly paid a base price of ₹150 crore for the digital streaming rights, though the deal carries a clause linked to the film’s performance in theatres, which means the final payment could end up higher or lower than the base figure. Music rights have fetched a record ₹65 crore, while television broadcast rights have brought in ₹25 crore.
The budget behind the numbers
The production itself grew substantially while the film was being made. What reportedly began as a project budgeted at around ₹200 crore is now estimated to have cost close to ₹400 crore — and that figure does not include a notional acting fee for Shah Rukh Khan or the money set aside for publicity and release. Trade estimates place the film’s total landing cost, including print and advertising, between ₹500 and ₹550 crore, making King the second most expensive Bollywood film ever made, behind only the Ramayana films.
The strong pre-release sales mean the makers have reportedly recovered a large part of that spending before the film even opens. But the numbers also carry a caveat: with the overseas guarantee and the Netflix performance clause in play, distributors’ final profits will depend on how King actually performs at the box office. Some trade estimates suggest the film may need a worldwide collection of around ₹800 crore for its theatrical distributors to turn a profit.
A Christmas release with history on the line
King marks Shah Rukh Khan’s first theatrical release in more than three years, and his second collaboration with Siddharth Anand after the blockbuster Pathaan of 2023. The film also carries a personal milestone for the star: it is the first time he appears on screen alongside his daughter, Suhana Khan.
The ensemble cast includes Deepika Padukone, Rani Mukerji and Abhishek Bachchan, and the film is produced by Khan’s Red Chillies and Anand’s Marflix. Promotion began on 2 November — the actor’s 61st birthday — with the release of the film’s first song. With about seven weeks to go until the Christmas release, distributors and streaming platforms have committed their money well before the main promotional push, a sign of the industry’s confidence in the superstar.
What happens next
Between now and 24 December, the campaign will shift into high gear, with the trailer expected in the coming weeks. The ₹175 crore overseas guarantee has already reset expectations for Indian films abroad, and the performance-linked Netflix payout gives the box-office run an extra layer of intrigue. For now, though, the headline stands: a film that has not yet released has already reportedly earned ₹665 crore — and all eyes are on Christmas.
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