India’s domestic box office got off to a strong start in 2026, with films released in January grossing Rs. 1,327 crore, marking a 30 percent rise over January 2025. Led by the major Hindi action film ‘Border 2’ and a cluster of Telugu Sankranthi releases, producers and distributors reported broad gains, even as other regional languages saw a quieter month.

The Ormax Media monthly India Box Office Report report said ‘Border 2’ topped the box office with a gross of Rs. 378 crore, while the festive Sankranthi window boosted performance for Telugu cinema. Five major Telugu titles, spearheaded by Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu, contributed more than Rs. 500 crore collectively, underlining the importance of holiday releases.

Overall January gross box office stood at Rs. 1,327 crore, versus Rs. 1,020 crore in the same month a year ago, highlighting industry momentum at the start of the year. The report noted this year-on-year spike came even without multiple heavyweight tentpole films across all languages.

A language-wise breakdown showed Hindi and Telugu films tied with a 39 percent share each, jointly accounting for nearly 80 percent of the month’s total box office. Other languages — including Malayalam, Kannada and international releases — registered relatively muted box office results, attributed in part to the absence of major high-profile films in early 2026.

In the Top 10 films chart for January, Telugu and Hindi releases dominated slot placements, with four Telugu and three Hindi films making the cut. ‘Border 2’ and ‘Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu’ alone accounted for roughly 48 percent of total collections for the month under review.

The Ormax report emphasised that all gross box office figures are calculated on a Gross Box Office basis for comparability across the diverse language industries. It also noted that some films still playing in theatres may have their estimated collections updated in subsequent reports when more complete data becomes available.

Industry analysts cited in the report said the Sankranthi festival period continued to be pivotal for box office performance, particularly for Telugu cinema, where back–to–back releases helped sustain audience interest amid competitive content slates. Few major Hindi tentpoles in January also meant wider leeway for regional films to capture market share.

Looking ahead, the Ormax Media monthly feature — published in the third week of the following month — will continue tracking language-wise performance, week-by-week trends and comparative year-on-year growth, providing distributions and studios with early insights into the evolving theatrical landscape in India.

(Image and chart courtesy Ormax Media)