Bollywood’s paid preview trend just got bigger! Akshay Kumar’s much-awaited Welcome to the Jungle is set to roar into theatres a day early with paid previews, joining a growing list of big releases testing this strategy in 2026.

Welcome to the Jungle: Overview

Detail	Information
Film	Welcome to the Jungle
Paid Preview Date	June 25, 2026
Official Release	June 26, 2026
Director	Ahmad Khan
Runtime	2 hours 28 minutes
Pinkvilla Predicted Opening	Rs. 20-26 crore
Presales Start	Monday

A Growing Trend in Bollywood

Paid previews have become a popular pre-release strategy this year, with films like Dhurandhar: The Revenge, Bhooth Bangla, and The Kerala Story 2 all testing the format. Welcome to the Jungle now joins this list, becoming Akshay Kumar’s second film this year to adopt paid previews after Bhooth Bangla, which had pulled in Rs. 3.65 crore nett through the same strategy.

The idea behind paid previews is twofold — generating early word-of-mouth and potentially boosting opening day numbers, especially useful when a film is expected to face capacity demand.

Stacked Star Cast

Welcome to the Jungle marks the third instalment in the popular Welcome franchise. It brings together an ensemble cast led by Akshay Kumar, alongside Suniel Shetty, Arshad Warsi, Disha Patani, Jacqueline Fernandez, Raveena Tandon, Lara Dutta, Jackie Shroff, Paresh Rawal, and several other familiar faces, promising a full-blown comedy entertainer.

This kind of multi-starrer ensemble format has long been a hallmark of Bollywood comedy franchises, drawing massive theatrical interest year after year.

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