The new year brings a fresh cinematic opportunity for Kapil Sharma's comedy Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon 2. The film, whose initial theatrical run in December 2025 was cut short by the colossal success of Aditya Dhar's period spy thriller Dhurandhar, is set for a re-release on January 9, 2026. This move aims to salvage its box office prospects, but it mirrors a similar, unsuccessful strategy employed by Anupam Kher's directorial venture Tanvi The Great last year.
A Second Shot at Theatrical Success
The makers of Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon 2, directed by Anukalp Goswami, have strategically chosen a new release date. The film's original run was brutally sandwiched between two behemoths: the record-breaking Dhurandhar starring Ranveer Singh and James Cameron's Hollywood fantasy Avatar: Fire and Ash. The latter has already earned over Rs 150 crore in India since its December 19 release.
This re-release window appears more favourable as both competing blockbusters have begun to slow down. However, the path is not entirely clear. The film will still contend with the holdover business of these giants and fresh competition from Sriram Raghavan's period war drama Ikkis, starring Agastya Nanda, which opened to strong critical acclaim on January 1.
Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon 2 will have a crucial one-week window with no major new releases before facing another wave. On January 16, Vir Das's directorial debut Happy Patel (backed by Aamir Khan Productions) and Vipul Vig's buddy comedy Rahu Ketu arrive. The following week, on January 23, the potentially massive Sunny Deol-starrer Border 2 will hit screens, threatening to dominate box office attention once again.
The Cautionary Tale of Tanvi The Great
This re-release strategy is not without precedent, and the most recent example serves as a stark warning. In 2025, veteran actor Anupam Kher's coming-of-age directorial Tanvi The Great, headlined by newcomer Shubhangi Dutt, was released on the same day (July 18) as Mohit Suri's romantic drama Saiyaara.
The Yash Raj Films' production, starring Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda, became a historic smash hit. It amassed Rs 329.20 crore domestically, setting records for the highest-grossing Indian romantic film and the highest-grossing film with newcomers. Tanvi The Great was, in Kher's own words, "completely wiped out" from theatres.
"It depressed me. It made me feel very sad, not just for myself, but for the new actor... and almost 200 people worked on the film," Kher said in an interview last year. He explained that even a film in 400 theatres can be removed if another film performs exceptionally well, calling the experience a "heartbreaking" failure.
Following this disappointment, Kher opted for a re-release of Tanvi The Great on September 26, 2025. The results, however, were dismal. Post re-release, the film failed to earn more than Rs 1 lakh on any single day—a figure lower than its initial first five days, which saw collections between Rs 11 lakh and 65 lakh. As per industry tracker Sacnilk, the film's total earnings across both phases stand at a meagre Rs 2.38 crore after 14 weeks in theatres.
Will History Repeat Itself for Kapil Sharma?
The central question now is whether Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon 2 can defy the odds and find an audience in its second outing. The film's fate hinges on several factors: the lingering appeal of Kapil Sharma's brand of comedy, the actual breathing room in the January calendar, and whether audience curiosity about a previously overshadowed film translates into ticket sales.
Interestingly, despite its commercial failure, Tanvi The Great found a champion in filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt. In an exclusive interview, Bhatt, mentor to Saiyaara director Mohit Suri, called Kher's film "superior" and "one of the finest films I've seen," praising its conviction in tackling the issues of an autistic girl.
As the industry watches closely, the re-release of Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon 2 on January 9 becomes a critical test case. It will determine if a film can successfully reboot its box office journey after being steamrolled by a bigger competitor, or if, like Tanvi The Great, it is simply a postponement of an inevitable commercial disappointment.
