The devotional drama defied low expectations, growing from 200 to over 2,000 screens after a quiet launch, with Cinepolis calling it a data-driven success.
Cinepolis India didn’t bet on a blockbuster. It bet on a film few noticed. Hanuman Ansh, a devotional drama released earlier this year, began with just 200 screens across India — far below the usual rollout for a major release. At that stage, expectations were low. But Ashish Misra, Head of Commercialisation at Cinepolis, says the decision to back the film wasn’t emotional. It was based on data.
"Decisions on the distribution side of the business are not emotionally driven. They are data-driven," Misra said in an exclusive interview. He added that the team liked the story, the music, and the content. "We really liked the film and its story, and felt that it was a film worth bringing to Indian audiences."
For two weeks, the film’s performance remained steady but unremarkable. Then, something changed. Audiences began finding it. Word spread. The film started gaining traction, not through aggressive marketing, but through word-of-mouth. As demand grew, so did the screen count. By mid-run, Hanuman Ansh had scaled to between 2,000 and 2,200 screens nationwide.
"This was one of those instances where audiences took some time to discover the film," Misra noted. "But once they did, it started growing rapidly."
Even with limited shows, the film held strong over the weekend. It ranked second at the box office, behind Drishyam The Conclusion. A high-profile release that drew massive crowds. "When you have a big-ticket film like Drishyam The Conclusion, which has been really well received by audiences, it’s natural for the shows of holdover releases to come down," Misra observed. "But even with a limited number of shows, Hanuman Ansh performed quite impressively. In fact, it was the second-best performing film over the weekend after Drishyam The Conclusion."
The film is now set for a Telugu-language release on October 9, handled by Hombale Films. How it performs in South India will be a key indicator of its broader appeal. Cinepolis has already expressed interest in the sequel, though no official plans exist yet. "That’s a call we can’t take right now, as the second part hasn’t even been made yet," Misra said. "We would certainly be open to associating with it, but at this stage, it’s still too early to really think about that."
This marks another win for Cinepolis, which previously backed The Taj Story as a sleeper hit. Their strategy? Identify films with strong core elements, story, music, substance. And scale them based on real audience response, not initial buzz. Hanuman Ansh proves the model works. And if the sequel follows suit, the chain may have found its next franchise.
The real question now: can a film built on patience and faith outperform the usual spectacle-driven formula?
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