Mar 26, 2026 9:59pm IST
Sustained fan-driven campaign ensures that Ryan Gosling’s Project Hail Mary’ gets IMAX screens on release day in India
When Ryan Gosling's 'Project Hail Mary', which released internationally on March 20, decided to move their release date in India to Mar. 26, to avoid a head-on clash with Ranveer Singh's 'Dhurandhar: The Revenge", it was with an implicit understanding that when it did release today (Mar. 26), as a 'Filmed For IMAX' release, it would get a clear preference in IMAX screens over "Dhurandhar 2", a film rendered for 'Experience In IMAX'.
This means that while the Hindi blockbuster would get a free run for a week, exhibitors with screens that have the premium format should ideally have opened bookings for "Project Hail Mary" ahead of the revised release date. While PVR Inox (which has the most IMAX screens in the country: 26) put out social posts advertising the release of PHM in the format, bookings for the film (in general) only happened on the night of Mar. 25. The IMAX bookings for the film only opened mid-day Mar. 26.
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At the time of writing this, the Sony Pictures Releasing International (SPRI)-distributed film in India managed to secure all of 13 IMAX shows by EOD today, with around 60-plus shows across all 34 functional IMAX screens opting to play multiple shows starting Friday.
While the craze for "Dhurandhar 2" continues unabated in India, exhibitors woke up to a sustained fan demand across social media calling out the exhibitors (PVR-Inox, Cinepolis, Broadway and others), distributor (SPRI) and IMAX for not doing enough to ensure that the Gosling-led, Phil Lord-Christopher Miller directorial global blockbuster got the release it deserved.
PVR-INOX shared earlier today that over 65,000 tickets have already been booked for PHM, signaling a strong demand for the film. The exhibitor put up another post after that (at 8:30 pm today) sharing that IMAX bookings were now open.
The screen crunch was expected, the shutout of the film that was actually shot using IMAX-certified digital cameras over a film that wasn't, was not. The number of weekend shows for "Project Hail Mary" could increase.
This is a developing story.
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