Pen Marudhar has acquired the all-India theatrical rights for King for Rs. 250 crore, locking in one of the year’s biggest film distribution deals as Shah Rukh Khan’s next big release moves toward Christmas 2026.
The trade source said Pen Marudhar secured the theatrical distribution rights for Rs. 250 crores, with the deal coming after a bidding war for the domestic rights that drew A.A. Films, Jio Studios, PVR INOX Pictures, Yash Raj Films and Dharma Productions. The film, directed by Siddharth Anand and made on a budget of around Rs. 400 crore, is scheduled to release on December 24 and is being positioned for a wide rollout across India.
King brings together Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, Rani Mukerji, Abhishek Bachchan, Suhana Khan, Anil Kapoor, Abhay Verma and Arshad Warsi, giving the project the scale of a high-budget action entertainer with an unusually crowded star cast. Bollywood Hungama reported that the theatrical deal ranks among the biggest of the year, a reflection of how strongly the industry is still betting on Khan after the box office success of Jawan and Pathaan.
That confidence also explains the fight over the film’s domestic rights. The release window is set to be crowded, with Hollywood titles including Avengers: Doomsday, Dune 3 and Jumanji named among the competing films around the same period. Pen Marudhar’s long association with Shah Rukh Khan’s banner, including releases such as Jawan, Dunki, Zero, Badla and Ittefaq, appears to have helped it stay in front of rivals as the final deal came together.
For now, the answer to the market’s biggest question is clear: King has already become a premium theatrical bet before a frame has played, and Pen Marudhar is the distributor carrying that wager into a Christmas 2026 release.
