King fetches record ₹175 crore overseas rights, a first for Indian cinema

King’s overseas theatrical rights have been sold for a record ₹175 crore, the highest amount ever paid for an Indian film’s foreign distribution. Phars Films, which has previously partnered with Yash Raj Films on several projects and handled the overseas release of Prabhas’ Saaho, secured the rights by providing a minimum guarantee of ₹175 crore. Until now Yash Raj Films held the overseas rights for Shah Rukh Khan’s movies, including the 2023 blockbusters Pathaan and Jawan. The MG figure signals Phars’ confidence; overseas distributors typically retain about 50 % of box‑office receipts, so King must generate roughly $37‑40 million, or about ₹350‑375 crore, to break even. By comparison, Pathaan and Jawan each earned around ₹400 crore abroad, while the all‑time overseas hits Dhurandhar 2 and RRR collected ₹460 crore and ₹430 crore respectively. King stars Shah Rukh Khan and is directed by Siddharth Anand, marking their second collaboration after Pathaan. The ensemble cast includes Suhana Khan – making her first appearance alongside her father after debuting in The Archies – Deepika Padukone, Abhishek Bachchan, Rani Mukerji, Jaideep Ahlawat, Raghav Juyal and Saurabh Shukla. The film is slated for a December 24 theatrical release. ## Context Indian cinema rarely sees overseas rights deals cross the ₹100 crore threshold, making this ₹175 crore agreement a significant benchmark for future global releases.