Shah Rukh Khan’s ‘King’ sets record before release:Overseas rights sold for ₹175 crore; needs ‘Pathaan’ and ‘Jawan’-level earnings to make a profit

The overseas theatrical rights to Shah Rukh Khan’s film ‘King’ have been sold for ₹175 crore. According to a Pinkvilla report, Fars Films bought the rights. The deal is being described as the biggest overseas rights deal in the history of Indian cinema. This is a major deal for the film’s release overseas. To break even, ‘King’ will need to earn around ₹350-375 crore at the international box office. Breaking even means neither making a profit nor incurring a loss in a business – in other words, recovering the amount invested. It may be noted that the overseas rights to Shah Rukh’s films have so far been held by Yash Raj Films. Yash Raj Films released ‘Pathaan’ and ‘Jawan’ overseas in 2023. Fars Films has experience in overseas distribution. The company has partnered on several Yash Raj Films productions. Fars Films distributed Prabhas’ ‘Saaho’ overseas on its own. According to the report, the company has offered a minimum guarantee (MG) of ₹175 crore for the rights to ‘King’. Until now, the overseas rights for no Indian film had reached ₹100 crore. This deal is therefore a new record. Bollywood films are generally released overseas under a commission-based distribution model. Under this arrangement, the distributor earns a commission instead of buying the film’s rights. Yash Raj Films released ‘Jawan’ and ‘Dunki’ overseas under the same model. The same plan was initially in place for ‘King’, but the deal changed after Fars Film offered such a large sum. The challenge of making big money from King The minimum guarantee offered for a film reflects the distributor’s confidence in it. Overseas distributors generally receive 50% of the box-office gross. By this calculation, ‘King’ will need to earn $37-40 million just to break even. This amounts to approximately ₹350-375 crore in Indian currency. ‘Pathaan’ and ‘Jawan’, among Shah Rukh Khan’s most successful films, earned around ₹400 crore each overseas. ‘King’ will need to earn at least this much to become profitable. For ‘King’ to be considered successful overseas, its earnings will need to approach the ₹460 crore earned by ‘Dhurandhar 2’ or the ₹430 crore earned by ‘RRR’. ‘Dhurandhar 2’ and ‘RRR’ are among the biggest overseas successes in Indian cinema. ‘King’ is being directed by Siddharth Anand. The film has been jointly produced by Red Chillies Entertainment and Marflix Pictures. Shah Rukh Khan will be seen in a new action avatar in the film. Besides Shah Rukh Khan, the film also stars Deepika Padukone, Rani Mukerji, Abhishek Bachchan, Suhana Khan, Anil Kapoor, Abhay Verma and Arshad Warsi. The story of ‘King’ is based on the journey of a mentor and a protégé who struggle for survival in difficult circumstances. A major clash is set for Christmas 2026 King will be released during Christmas 2026, when Hollywood films such as Jumanji, Avengers: Doomsday and Dune 3 will also hit cinemas. In view of this competition, plans are being made for a major theatrical release for the film. Meanwhile, a Bollywood Hungama report revealed that film distribution company Pen Marudhar had acquired King’s all-India distribution rights for ₹250 crore. It may be noted that Pen Marudhar has had a longstanding association with Shah Rukh Khan’s production house. The company has previously released films such as Jawan, Dunki, Zero, Badla and Ittefaq. Key facts about the film ‘King’-