Pen Marudhar has bought two more theatrical rights packages, paying Rs. 35 crore-plus for Emraan Hashmi’s Gunmaaster G9 and upwards of Rs. 15 crore for the Hindi version of Rajinikanth’s Jailer 2, a source told Bollywood Hungama.
The Gunmaaster G9 bet
Gunmaaster G9 releases on November 27 and also stars Genelia Deshmukh and Aparshakti Khurana, with Aditya Datt directing. Pen Marudhar is linking its fate to Awarapan 2, which it is also distributing and which features Emraan Hashmi. The source said the company “bid aggressively” because it believes both titles can work at the box office. The acquisition price makes the opening weekend and lifetime theatrical share the immediate numbers to track.
Jailer 2’s Hindi rights are a post-theatrical call
For Jailer 2, Pen Marudhar is not buying proven Hindi box office. The first Jailer (2023) faced Gadar 2 and OMG 2 and did not release in national chains, so its Hindi theatrical run was limited. But the film was widely consumed on OTT and satellite later, which built franchise awareness among Hindi-speaking viewers. Rajinikanth’s Coolie then took a Hindi lifetime of Rs. 34 crore across multiplex chains. That is the benchmark behind the Rs. 15 crore-plus outlay. Jailer 2 opens on October 15, returning Rajinikanth as Muthuvel Pandian with Vidya Balan and Mithun Chakraborty.
What the numbers say
- Franchise recall is being monetised after the fact: OTT and satellite viewing of Jailer is doing the work that a weak Hindi theatrical run did not.
- Comparable titles are setting the price: Coolie’s Rs. 34 crore Hindi lifetime makes a bigger Rajinikanth sequel look more valuable in Hindi.
- Pre-buying is getting expensive: Pen Marudhar has added these titles to Awarapan 2, Love & War and King, showing competition for theatrical rights.
For distribution and marketing teams, the question is not whether the films will earn revenue, but whether the theatrical share can cover the acquisition before satellite and OTT are counted. If national chain access comes through for Jailer 2, the Hindi version gets a new ceiling; if not, the Rs. 15 crore-plus price still depends on post-theatrical recovery.
Source: Bollywood Hungama
