Box office battles, a fading spy thriller, and two major South-Bollywood crossover release dates. Here’s everything moving the needle in Indian entertainment today.
Bollywood News Today (July 9, 2026) and South cinema updates: Dhamaal 4 vs Welcome To The Jungle box office clash, Alpha’s day 6 collapse, Jana Nayagan’s July 24 release, and The Vvaan’s new date.
Bollywood News Today (July 9, 2026):
Dhamaal 4 Advance Booking Explodes Ahead Of Friday Release
Ajay Devgn, Riteish Deshmukh, Arshad Warsi and Jaaved Jaaferi’s Dhamaal 4 hits theatres tomorrow, and the advance booking numbers just got serious.
Ticket sales jumped 388% in 23 hours, crossing 64,000 tickets nationwide, with show count touching 11,040.
Trade is calling for an opening around Rs 11-12 crore. That would comfortably beat Alpha’s Rs 9.50 crore day 1, though Dhamaal 4 needs to cross Rs 14.10 crore to break into 2026’s top 5 Bollywood openers.
Franchise goodwill is doing the heavy lifting here. Dhamaal and Double Dhamaal both worked, and Total Dhamaal scored a certified century.
The bigger story is whether it eats into Welcome To The Jungle’s run. Akshay Kumar’s comedy dropped 25% on its second Wednesday but is still closing in on Rs 120 crore domestic. Exhibitors are split.
Some think the two family entertainers will split footfall on the same weekend.
Others argue two working comedies in theatres at once is a net win for the industry, since it signals audiences are back for theatrical comedy specifically.
Alpha Is Fading Fast, And The Reviews Explain Why
Alia Bhatt and Sharvari’s YRF spy actioner is in freefall. Day 6 brought in just Rs 2.85 crore, taking the domestic net to Rs 44.95 crore and worldwide to roughly Rs 74.89 crore.
Overall Hindi occupancy sat at 9.79%, with Chennai the only city cracking double digits at 15.8%.
The reviews tell the real story. Critics and audiences are largely agreeing that Sharvari outperformed Alia, with more than one review noting the casting should have swapped their roles.
Trade analysts are already calling this the weakest entry in YRF’s Spy Universe, and the comparisons to Dhurandhar aren’t helping. One trade voice went as far as saying the aggressive PR push simply didn’t convert into ticket sales.
Content angle for creators: “Sharvari steals the show” is the story everyone’s writing. Lean into it.
Jana Nayagan Release Date: July 24 Looks Locked
Thalapathy Vijay’s expected farewell film finally has a real date attached to it.
Canadian distributor York Cinemas confirmed a July 24, 2026 release on social media, though KVN Productions hasn’t made the official announcement yet.
Context worth including in any post about this: Jana Nayagan is widely seen as Vijay’s last film before he shifts full-time into politics as Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister.
It’s already survived a major online leak in April, where reportedly 1.2 crore people watched pirated copies before the film even got CBFC clearance, plus multiple delays over censorship.
It releases in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Kannada and Malayalam, directed by H. Vinoth, and stars Vijay alongside Pooja Hegde and Bobby Deol.
The Vvaan Gets A New Release Date, And A New Poster
Sidharth Malhotra and Tamannaah Bhatia’s folklore fantasy The Vvaan just moved from August 28 to September 25, 2026.
The shift conveniently avoids a three-way box office collision with Yash’s Toxic and Shraddha Kapoor’s Eetha, both landing in late August.
There’s a personal angle too. Toxic stars Kiara Advani, Sidharth’s real-life wife, so the original date would have quietly pitted the couple against each other at the box office. That subplot is gone now.
A new poster dropped alongside the announcement, showing a lone warrior figure between a circling bull and tiger, teasing the mythology at the film’s core. It’s Sidharth and Tamannaah’s first film together, shot in real forest locations across Central India, blending fantasy, action, comedy and adventure.
Hrithik Roshan In Talks With Chhaava Director For Next Film
Laxman Utekar, fresh off the massive success of Chhaava and now prepping Shraddha Kapoor’s Eetha for release, has reportedly approached Hrithik Roshan for his next project as per Variety India report.
The plan is to start shortly after Eetha hits theatres on August 28, though Hrithik hasn’t responded yet since he’s currently deep in pre-production on his own directorial debut, Krrish 4.
Worth noting for context: Utekar’s strength has always been small-town, grounded stories (Luka Chuppi, Mimi, Zara Hatke Zara Bachke) plus historicals like Chhaava, so a Hrithik collaboration would be a real tonal shift for both.
Eetha itself is a biographical drama on Marathi Lavani and Tamasha performer Vithabai Narayangaonkar, also starring Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub and Randeep Hooda, with music by Ajay-Atul.
On Hrithik’s own release front, Krrish 4 is a joint YRF and Filmkraft Productions venture, and he’s also shot a cameo for Rajinikanth’s Jailer 2, marking their on-screen reunion 40 years after Bhagwaan Dada.
That film, directed by Nelson Dilipkumar, is stacked with cameos from Mohanlal, Shiva Rajkumar, Vijay Sethupathi and Mithun Chakraborty, and releases October 15.
Quick Hits
- Welcome To The Jungle has crossed Rs 113 crore domestically in 10 days and is nearing the Rs 120 crore mark despite a slowdown.
- Cocktail 2 wrapped its theatrical run as Rashmika Mandanna’s 5th highest Bollywood grosser, with Sikandar’s record staying out of reach.
- South OTT and theatrical releases this week (July 6-12) include Peddi, Sing Geetham, and a handful of smaller titles.
- Ramayana’s trailer launches July 18 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, ahead of a Diwali 2026 release, with Ranbir Kapoor, Sai Pallavi and Yash leading.
That’s the roundup for July 9. Check back tomorrow for Dhamaal 4’s actual opening day numbers, which should give the clearest read yet on where Bollywood comedy stands right now.
Lead Image: TOI, IMDb, T-Series, Prime Focus
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