Actor Aamir Khan has drawn attention to a long-standing structural challenge facing the Indian film industry — the severe shortage of cinema halls across the country. Speaking to Variety India, Aamir argued that the lack of screens is one of the biggest reasons Indian films, despite massive popularity, fall far short of their potential box-office earnings.
Comparing India’s exhibition infrastructure with China’s, Aamir noted that India has barely one-tenth the number of cinema outlets. This disparity, he explained, directly impacts how much a film can earn domestically. In China, major releases routinely earn billions of US dollars from the domestic market alone because they open in tens of thousands of theatres simultaneously. In India, even the biggest films are restricted by limited screen availability.
To illustrate his point, Aamir cited Ranveer Singh’s blockbuster Dhurandhar, which collected around Rs 1,000 crore in India and approximately $150 million worldwide. While the film emerged as the biggest Indian release of 2025, Aamir believes its earnings could have been significantly higher if it had received a wider theatrical release. According to him, releasing a film like Dhurandhar on 15,000 screens instead of 5,000 would have dramatically expanded its reach and revenue.
Aamir also highlighted that several districts in India still do not have a single cinema hall, limiting access to theatrical releases for a large section of the population. He stressed that increasing the number of screens would help grow the industry from the grassroots level, widening the base of moviegoing audiences and strengthening the entire ecosystem.
Directed by Aditya Dhar and starring Ranveer Singh, Dhurandhar is among the biggest Indian films ever, selling nearly four crore tickets. A sequel, Dhurandhar: The Revenge, is scheduled for release in March.
On the work front, Aamir Khan was last seen in the sports drama Sitaare Zameen Par, which earned Rs 265 crore worldwide. He also made cameo appearances in Happy Patel and Rajinikanth’s Coolie.
