October 28, 2024: Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s much-anticipated film Love & War, starring Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, and Vicky Kaushal, is already generating buzz, even though filming is still months away. Despite not having shot a single scene, the epic romantic action drama has reportedly earned over Rs 215 crore in pre-release business deals.
Also Read: Bollywood Movie Releases in November 2024: A Cinematic Extravaganza
Also Read: Pushpa 2 Release Date Moved Ahead For This Reason? Find Out
According to a new report, Bhansali has chosen to self-finance Love & War, following a model similar to that of studios like YRF and Red Chillies. A source told Pinkvilla that Bhansali signed a significant post-theatrical streaming deal with Netflix, estimated at Rs 130 crore. This amount may increase based on the film’s box office performance. The successful collaboration on Bhansali’s web series Heeramandi reportedly motivated Netflix to invest heavily in this new project.
In addition to the Netflix deal, Bhansali has secured Rs 35 crore for the film’s music rights from Saregama, with negotiations ongoing for a satellite deal with a major network, valued around Rs 50 crore.
The source also mentioned that several studios were willing to buy the project outright for Rs 350 crore, but Bhansali preferred to retain creative and financial control. As part of the financing model, the film’s lead stars – Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, and Vicky Kaushal – have agreed to backend deals. Ranbir, in particular, is expected to receive a substantial share of the theatrical revenue, while the production costs are already covered by non-theatrical rights.
Scheduled to start filming in October 2024, Love & War is expected to hit theaters on March 20, 2026, after a potential delay from the initially planned Christmas 2025 release. The film may face competition at the box office from Shah Rukh Khan’s action thriller King, directed by Sujoy Ghosh and co-starring Suhana Khan, Abhay Verma, and Abhishek Bachchan.
SanjayLeelaBhansali, LoveAndWar, RanbirKapoor, AliaBhatt, VickyKaushal, Bollywood, Netflix, Saregama, BollywoodDeals,
