Pushpa 2 faces potential removal from PVR-INOX in North India amid clash with Baby John

Allu Arjun's Pushpa 2: The Rule continues to dominate the box office, but its run in North India faces a major hurdle. The film, which has been a massive hit, especially in the Hindi market, is now at risk of being pulled from PVR-INOX theatres in the region due to the upcoming release of Varun Dhawan’s Baby John on December 25.

Despite its record-breaking performance, Pushpa 2 is encountering pressure from its North India distributors, AA Films, who have raised concerns about the film's exhibition amid the imminent release of Baby John. The distributors have reportedly demanded in writing that exhibitors not reduce Pushpa 2's showings for the release of Baby John. An ultimatum was issued: if the demand isn’t met, the release order (RO) for the film will not be provided, preventing the movie from being screened in theatres over the weekend.

This has led to speculation that PVR-INOX may remove Pushpa 2 from its North India screens as early as Wednesday, December 25. After a tense meeting on Friday night, both parties decided to pause the issue, with hopes of resolving it later. In the meantime, PVR-INOX has reopened advance bookings for Pushpa 2, but only through December 22, leaving its future in the chain uncertain.

Directed by Sukumar, Pushpa 2: The Rule stars Allu Arjun, Rashmika Mandanna, and Fahadh Faasil. The Hindi version of the film has already broken records, becoming the highest-grossing Hindi film of all time in just 16 days. Its box office earnings are heavily reliant on the Hindi market, with the film earning ₹11 crore on Friday alone, contributing to nearly 80% of its total revenue.

On the other hand, Baby John, an action-packed drama directed by Kalees and produced by Atlee, is expected to capitalize on the Christmas release window. The film, starring Varun Dhawan, Wamiqa Gabbi, and Keerthy Suresh, is based on the Tamil film Theri and is anticipated to perform well during the festive season.