Riteish Deshmukh expresses immense hope for the film industry, celebrating his film “Raja Shivaji”‘s success and 2026’s diverse box office hits. He notes a promising trend: films with low openings are achieving significant business later, inspiring filmmakers across genres.
Key Points
Riteish Deshmukh's "Raja Shivaji" is now the highest-grossing Marathi film ever.
The first half of 2026 saw diverse genres, from comedy to horror, achieve success.
Films that opened low are showing extraordinary business in later weeks, boosting industry morale.
"Raja Shivaji" was a decade-long dream for Riteish, aimed at pan-India appeal.
“Raja Shivaji” Becomes Highest-Grossing Marathi Film
The half yearly reports are in for the film industry, and Riteish Deshmukh has a reason to rejoice. His film, Raja Shivaji emerged as the highest grossing Marathi film ever. A biopic on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, he directed the magnum opus as well which started streaming on OTT recently after it’s theatrical release.
Interestingly, the audiences, since the onset of 2026, have supported not just big-budget spectacle dramas, but also various genres like a partition drama (Main Vaapas Aaunga), comedy (Bhooth Bangla and Welcome To The Jungle ), among others. As a member of the industry, he is absolutely delighted.
2026: A Year of Diverse Box Office Successes
He tells HT City when we speak, “Every month, every two weeks, we are witnessing some success in terms of different genres. There’s a comedy that’s doing well, a horror film that did well. Even a film that didn’t open well is doing extraordinary business in the third week compared to the first week. It definitely gives hope to all filmmakers to just believe in a subject. If the subject is right, audiences will turn up to theatres.”
Riteish Deshmukh’s Hope for Future Filmmaking
Coming to his film, Raja Shivaji was mounted on a high budget, with the attempt clear at making it’s appeal pan India. Names such as Abhishek Bachchan , Vidya Balan, Sanjay Dutt were associated with it. Commenting on the film’s performance, he adds, “With this particular subject on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the dream was to show it across India. I’m glad that because of that, the reach has widened. I t’s absolutely humbling to see the response the audience has given. It’s been an effort of three and a half years on ground, and probably more than ten years of dreaming to make this film. The idea that even in the Marathi industry, these kind of figures that we are seeing… I believe it’s a beginning. We hope that more and more films come and break this record and make new ones, because unless records are broken commercially, the industry doesn’t stand. It will only survive when newer records are broken frequently. That’s very important.”
This positive trend, where strong subjects find their audience, offers a bright future for cinema. Riteish hopes this momentum continues, encouraging more filmmakers to break records and push creative boundaries.
