Lingesh Kumar

BY JITU JANGIR

For over a decade, Joe Anoa'i — better known as Roman Reigns — has been at the center of WWE's biggest storylines, biggest matches, and biggest business decisions. Few performers in the company's history have carried the weight of the brand quite the way he has, headlining WrestleMania after WrestleMania while the product built itself around his character arc. What makes his story stand out isn't just longevity; it's the sheer range of it — a career that has moved through nearly every phase a wrestler can go through, from hated pretender to beloved hero to a villain the audience couldn't look away from. From a breakout member of The Shield to the "Tribal Chief" who headlined the industry's most dominant title reign in modern history, his journey is one of the most complete stories WWE has ever told. Here are the ten moments that built him into the company's cornerstone — the wins, the setbacks, and the reinventions that turned Roman Reigns into the undisputed face of WWE. 1. The Shield Storms In — Survivor Series 2012 Roman Reigns made his main-roster debut on November 18, 2012, ambushing the ring alongside Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose to help CM Punk retain the WWE Championship. The Shield's arrival instantly reshaped WWE's landscape, and Reigns — the imposing enforcer of the trio — was immediately marked as a star in the making. 2. The Betrayal That Made Him a Singles Star — June 2014 On the June 2, 2014 episode of Raw, Seth Rollins turned on his Shield brothers, blasting Reigns with a steel chair and ending the faction. The split forced Reigns out of the group dynamic and into a singles push, setting him on the path WWE had been building toward: its next top guy. 3. Winning the Royal Rumble — January 2015 Reigns won the 2015 Royal Rumble Match, last eliminating Big Show, in a moment WWE clearly intended as a coronation. The reaction was famously divisive — fans openly rebelled against the push — but the match cemented WWE's commitment to making him the franchise's centerpiece, for better or worse. 4. Ending an Era — Defeating The Undertaker at WrestleMania 33 At WrestleMania 33 in 2017, Reigns beat The Undertaker in a No Holds Barred match, becoming only the second man ever to defeat the Deadman at WrestleMania. The Undertaker left his hat, coat, and gloves in the ring afterward — a symbolic passing of the torch that instantly raised Reigns' stature among the all-time greats. 5. The Torch-Passing Over John Cena — No Mercy 2017 In September 2017, Reigns defeated John Cena in a clean, hard-hitting match at No Mercy. Though it happened on a secondary pay-per-view, the bout is remembered as a definitive changing of the guard between WWE's dominant star of the 2000s–2010s and the man being groomed to replace him. 6. Finally Beating Brock Lesnar — SummerSlam 2018 After years of chasing him, Reigns defeated Brock Lesnar to win the Universal Championship at SummerSlam 2018. It was the validation moment fans had waited years for — proof that Reigns could beat the company's most dominant "conqueror" for the top title. 7. The Leukemia Announcement — October 2018 Weeks after winning the title, Reigns stunned the wrestling world on the October 22, 2018 Raw by revealing his leukemia had returned and relinquishing the Universal Championship to focus on his health. The raw, emotional moment humanized him overnight, transforming public perception and rallying the entire industry behind him. 8. The Reinvention — SummerSlam 2020 and the Birth of the Tribal Chief After stepping away for COVID-19 precautions and missing WrestleMania 36, Reigns returned at SummerSlam 2020 with a shocking heel turn, aligning with Paul Heyman and attacking Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman. This rebirth as "The Tribal Chief" — colder, more calculated, and unapologetically dominant — is widely regarded as the true beginning of his prime and the character work that finally won over the audience. 9. Breaking Brock Lesnar's Record — January 2022 On January 16, 2022, Reigns surpassed Brock Lesnar's 503-day reign to become the longest-reigning Universal Champion in WWE history. It was statistical proof of just how thoroughly he had taken over the company at the top of the card. 10. Unifying the Titles — WrestleMania 38 At WrestleMania 38 in 2022, Reigns defeated Brock Lesnar to also capture the WWE Championship, unifying it with his Universal Championship to become the first-ever Undisputed WWE Universal Champion. It was the culmination of nearly two years of storytelling and confirmed him, definitively, as the face of the entire promotion.

BY JITU JANGIR

John Cena walked away from WWE in December 2025 with 17 world championships, a Grand Slam, and a resume that reads like a history book of the last two decades of professional wrestling. He beat The Rock, ended feuds with Lesnar, Undertaker, HHH, Angle, Edge, Orton, Batista, Punk, Styles, Owens, Rollins, Reigns, and dozens more across a 23-year run that closed with a tap-out loss to Gunther at Saturday Night's Main Event. But even a career that sprawling has holes in it. Some opponents were in a different company. Some were on the same roster for years and just never got booked against him. Some were on the wrong side of history — retired, injured, or simply timed out before creative connected the dots. Here's my ranking of the 10 dream opponents who never got their moment with Cena, and why each would've been must-see wrestling. 1. John Cena vs. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin This is the granddaddy of every "what if" list in WWE history. Austin and Cena represent two of the biggest merchandise-movers and most bankable stars the company has ever produced, from two entirely different eras of storytelling — Austin's beer-swilling rebellion versus Cena's hustle-loyalty-respect superhero routine. The two never actually locked up, though Austin did serve as a special guest referee for a string of Cena's SmackDown title defenses back in 2005, overseeing wins over JBL and Kurt Angle. When Cena was asked directly why it never happened, his answer was refreshingly simple: nobody ever pulled the trigger on it. He's said he would have loved to wrestle Austin, along with Andre the Giant, but chose to focus on gratitude for the matches he did get rather than the ones that slipped away. Given Austin's limited, sporadic in-ring appearances since the mid-2000s, this is a match that was always more likely to live in highlight-reel fantasy than reality — but it's still the one fans debate loudest. 2. John Cena vs. Goldberg Cena and Goldberg crossed paths exactly once in a competitive setting — the 2004 Royal Rumble, where both men entered late and were eliminated within minutes of each other, Goldberg going out 24th and Cena 25th. Beyond that, despite Goldberg's surprise 2016 return giving him fresh programs against Brock Lesnar, Roman Reigns, The Undertaker, and Kevin Owens, a singles match with Cena simply never materialized. Both men have publicly wished it had. Goldberg has said he never got the chance to put his hands around Cena's throat and admitted that would have been fun, while Cena, asked about it directly at a fan convention, shrugged it off with a joke about nobody ever telling him to do it. With both stars running retirement tours in the same calendar year, some in the wrestling media even pushed publicly for WWE to finally book the collision before either man hung up his boots — but the moment never came. 3. John Cena vs. Ric Flair The Nature Boy shared the ring with essentially every major star of the last five decades — Hogan, Steamboat, Sting, Michaels, Triple H, Batista — spanning the WCW, NWA, and WWE eras. Somehow, a Flair-Cena singles match never happened, despite years of overlap on WWE programming during Cena's ascension in the mid-2000s. The stylistic contrast alone makes this one of the more tantalizing misses: Flair's chop-heavy, psychology-driven old-school formula against Cena's power-babyface, five-moves-of-doom arsenal. A Figure-Four attempt countered into an Attitude Adjustment would have been the kind of moment that bridges wrestling generations. 4. John Cena vs. Kazuchika Okada Often billed by fans and pundits as New Japan Pro-Wrestling's answer to Cena — a franchise cornerstone who carried his promotion on his back for over a decade — Okada's career arc ran almost parallel to Cena's later years. The two were never on the same roster at the same time, and any lingering hope of a crossover dream match effectively ended when Okada signed with AEW rather than WWE. It remains one of the biggest "closest we'll ever get is a highlight reel" matchups in the sport, a genuine East-meets-West spectacle that wrestling fans on both sides of the Pacific wanted. 5. John Cena vs. Drew McIntyre This is arguably the most glaring miss on the list, simply because of how much runway existed for it. McIntyre had two separate stints on WWE's main roster overlapping with Cena's career, including his rise to two-time world champion status in the 2020s, and the two never once collided in a marquee singles match. McIntyre was even floated by wrestling media as a logical dance partner for Cena during his 2025 farewell tour, given the timing of McIntyre's redemption arc as a future Hall of Famer, but the creative never lined up before Cena's final bell rang. 6. John Cena vs. Kenny Omega The AEW ace built his reputation on hard-hitting, high-drama epics in NJPW, DDT, and AEW, and his career overlapped almost entirely with Cena's part-time run and retirement tour — but on the opposite side of the WWE/AEW divide, meaning the two never so much as shared a building. Omega's chaotic, physically punishing in-ring style against Cena's methodical, crowd-pandering formula represents exactly the kind of "different wrestling worlds colliding" dream match that fans still book in their heads on message boards and podcasts. 7. John Cena vs. MJF Before any physical contact, this matchup sells itself on the microphone. MJF built his entire AEW persona as a smarmy, self-obsessed heel mouthpiece, the stylistic opposite of Cena's aw-shucks, crowd-rallying babyface energy — and arguably the closest thing wrestling has produced to a spiritual successor to Cena's promo command, just inverted. A pre-match war of words between the two would have been appointment viewing regardless of who eventually won the bout. 8. John Cena vs. Bron Breakker WWE's next-generation powerhouse has drawn Goldberg comparisons for his explosiveness, and Goldberg himself specifically named Breakker as a fresh option he'd want to face in his own final run. Breakker's spear-and-power arsenal against Cena's five-moves-of-doom, capped by a passing-of-the-torch finish, would have made thematic sense as a way to formally hand the "next face of WWE" torch to the current generation — but the timing during Cena's farewell tour never aligned. 9. John Cena vs. Jey Uso Uso eliminated Cena from the 2025 Royal Rumble, and that moment briefly sparked real speculation about a proper singles follow-up between two of the most consistently beloved characters on WWE television. But Uso spent much of the rest of 2025 entangled in the World Heavyweight Championship picture, and the singles blowoff never got scheduled. Given how thunderously both men get over with live crowds, a full-length Cena-Uso singles match, likely a big babyface-vs-babyface crowd-pleaser, remains one of the more painful "so close" misses of Cena's final year. 10. John Cena vs. LA Knight Knight came the closest of anyone on this list to actually getting the match. He advanced deep into the "Last Time Is Now" tournament that determined Cena's final opponent, only to fall short to Gunther in the final. Given Knight's crowd-command style — arguably the most Cena-like energy on the current roster — a Knight-Cena passing-of-the-torch match, with Knight going over to cement his own ascension, felt like the more poetic send-off some fans wanted instead of the submission loss Cena ultimately chose.

BY JITU JANGIR

Chelsea Green's celebration as WWE's newest champion has taken a painful turn. The "Hot Mess" confirmed on social media that she suffered a broken orbital bone during the August 7 episode of SmackDown, just days after capturing the Interim WWE Women's Championship at SummerSlam. On Friday night's SmackDown from Philadelphia, Green teamed with Women's United States Champion Tiffany Stratton in a tag match against Fatal Influence's Fallon Henley and Lainey Reid for the Women's Tag Team Championship. During the bout, Jacy Jayne blasted Green with a Rolling Encore behind the referee's back, setting up Henley and Reid to hit their Fatal Flaw finisher for the pin — meaning the newly crowned champion ate the loss in her first match with the title. After the bell, Nia Jax and Lash Legend jumped Green and Stratton, with Jax closing the segment holding up the Women's Championship. Wrestling Observer's Bryan Alvarez was first to report that Green had been hurt in the match, though the extent of the injury wasn't immediately known. Green has since confirmed the diagnosis herself, revealing she was taken to the emergency room after the show. "Hey guys, so I was trying to keep this kind of private, but the internet knows everything, so I thought I'd come on here and clear things up. I did get injured last night. Stuff happens. It's live television. It's wrestling. It's an occupational hazard. I ended up in the emergency room and I have a broken orbital bone. It looks amazing, all things considered. It feels awful, but looks pretty amazing. I have no idea what means for me. You know, usually you guys have seen me like play into every single injury. But like this feels different." "Obviously, this feels very different. It feels frustrating. I'm upset. I feel like if didn't have bad luck, I'd have no luck at all. So I just need to take a little bit more time to process and to kind of heal from obviously the head trauma that is going on right now. And then we'll see what happens. We're just gonna take it day by day. So world domination continues. We've just had a minor blip. Thank you."

BY JITU JANGIR

In an interview, WWE's Nick Aldis reflected on the early days of his run as SmackDown General Manager, revealing how a pivotal on-screen exchange with Roman Reigns helped shape the tone of his character — and recounting the chaotic backstage story behind his first meeting with Vince McMahon. WWE Superstar Nick Aldis spoke to Chris Van Vliet and described a now-famous couch segment with Reigns as a genuinely significant moment for him professionally. He praised Reigns as meticulous and deeply thoughtful about every detail of his on-screen presence, crediting Paul Heyman's influence for helping shape that approach. Aldis said he felt real gratitude toward Reigns, noting that Reigns didn't have to extend him that level of trust in establishing the GM character, but chose to. The interview then turned to a story from very early in his tenure — by his own estimate, just a month or six weeks into the job — involving Randy Orton's arrival on SmackDown. Aldis explained that strict staging instructions were coming down at the time about where he and Heyman should stand during a live segment. Just before they went live, word came through again insisting he stay in the background while Heyman took the foreground. He recalled Heyman being amused by the directive, and Aldis feeling he had no real choice but to comply with seconds to air. The segment reportedly went off well, with Paul "Triple H" Levesque doing the opposite of what was expected in a way that sold the moment. That day, Aldis said, turned out to be the first time he ever met Vince McMahon in person — who was there watching. Aldis admitted he spent the moments afterward dreading the encounter, assuming McMahon would be furious they'd deviated from instructions. Instead, he said McMahon was gracious and complimentary about the segment, which left Aldis feeling conflicted given how much credit he felt Heyman deserved. Asked about Reigns couch segment, Aldis explained it emerged from an improvised back-and-forth where Reigns needled him about his feelings, prompting him to fire back, "but I'm an executive. I don't have feelings, you know." He said the line was meant to establish his character as a cold, businesslike executive, citing shows like Suits and Succession as influences on that steely persona — cool, cutthroat, and, in his own description, ultimately someone who's emotionally shut off. At WWE SummerSlam 2026 (Night 1, August 1, in Minneapolis), Nick Aldis wrestled in a match despite his in-ring absence of almost three years,, taking on Gunther. He came up short against Gunther, succumbing to Gunther's sleeper hold submission. Despite the loss, it was described as a dream match turned nightmare, with fans firmly behind him throughout. Following the loss, Aldis reportedly tried to resign as SmackDown General Manager, but Triple H (Paul Levesque) wouldn't allow it, telling Aldis he respected what he did at SummerSlam and wanted him to remain GM. On future plans, it is being suggested that Aldis could wrestle in WWE again, with sources in the company not believing he was "one and done." Aldis was said to have been banged up coming out of the match, and no timeline has been confirmed for when he'd wrestle next.

BY JITU JANGIR

Chelsea Green has teased the possibility of bringing back one of her popular WWE concepts after revealing that her former tag team partner Piper Niven is currently recovering from a neck injury. During her recent appearance on XTU Philadelphia, Green was asked whether becoming a champion could lead to the return of 'The Secret Hervice', her partnership with Piper Niven. Green immediately showed her interest in the idea, admitting that she would “love, love, love” to see the duo return. However, she explained that Niven is currently sidelined while recovering from a neck injury and that WWE does not want to rush her comeback. “My tag partner Piper, she's out with a neck injury right now, but she is rehabbing,” Green said. Green stressed that Niven's recovery needs to happen at the right pace rather than being rushed simply to bring the team back together. “She is on the road to recovery, but we can't rush something like that,” Green explained. Interestingly, Green also suggested that the eventual return could be even more effective if WWE waits until fans are no longer expecting it. “Sometimes it's better to bring it back when people are not expecting it,” she said, pointing to WWE's ability to surprise its audience. The comments leave the door open for a potential reunion once Niven is medically ready to return. Green and Niven have previously been closely associated on WWE television, and Green's comments indicate that she remains interested in reviving their partnership. For now, however, Niven's recovery appears to be the priority. Green is currently WWE's reigning champion following her major SummerSlam victory. She is actively competing and promoting her championship reign while continuing to appear on WWE programming. Her current run has already taken her to Philadelphia, where she discussed the importance of beginning her reign in a city with such a deep professional wrestling history. With Green now carrying championship gold and Niven working her way back from injury, a potential return of The Secret Hervice could become an interesting storyline to watch once Piper is cleared to compete.

BY SUNIT JANGIR

Bengaluru, August 8 - The trailer of Yash-starrer Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups is finally out, offering a glimpse into Geetu Mohandas’ dark and violent world. The 4-minute-38-second trailer is soaked in blood and tears, with Yash playing a powerful gangster surrounded by crime, violence and betrayal. The trailer also hints at a more complicated story involving family and revenge, making Toxic look far more layered than a straightforward gangster drama. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}) The biggest talking point is the apparent Yash vs Yash conflict. The trailer suggests that Yash plays both a father and his son, with the two characters seemingly connected to Kiara Advani's Nadia. The trailer hints at Nadia returning with a score to settle, while Yash's two characters appear to be on opposing sides of a violent conflict. Nayanthara, Huma Qureshi, Tara Sutaria and Rukmini Vasanth also feature in the trailer. Yash has previously indicated that Toxic is not simply a conventional gangster film, with the story exploring deeper psychological and human elements. The trailer certainly reflects that ambition, combining brutal action with an emotional family conflict. Kiara Advani has also spoken highly of Nadia, describing the character as one of the most creatively fulfilling roles of her career. Following the enormous success of the KGF franchise, Toxic marks Yash's much-awaited return to the big screen. Directed by Geetu Mohandas, the film is gearing up for a worldwide theatrical release on August 26, 2026. If the trailer is an indication, Toxic is set to deliver a dark, violent and unconventional fairy tale for grown-ups. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({})

BY JITU JANGIR

The wrestling legend says he didn't remember his name, his location, or any part of the historic loss until the early hours of the following morning. Mark Calaway, known to the world as The Undertaker, has revealed new details about the severity of the concussion he suffered during his infamous streak-ending loss to Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania XXX in 2014 — a match that ended a 21-0 undefeated run at "The Show of Shows" and shocked the wrestling world. Speaking on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Undertaker said he has no recollection of the match itself. He was taken to the hospital before the pay-per-view had even finished, and his memory didn't begin returning until roughly 4 or 5 a.m. the next day. He described being repeatedly asked basic orientation questions by doctors — his name, his age — much like the routine seen in television medical dramas, and said he genuinely couldn't answer them. Strikingly, he noted that although he couldn't recall his own name in the aftermath, he was still able to recognize his wife, Michelle, and WWE chairman Vince McMahon — a detail he called "really bizarre." The injury had lasting psychological effects. As he prepared to return the following year, self-doubt crept in for the first time in his career, compounded by his age and a fear that a similar injury could happen again. He said there was no single moment he could point to as the cause — an experience he likened to wrestling's old adage that "fighters get old overnight." Undertaker connected this experience directly to a line from his WWE Hall of Fame induction speech, in which he thanked Triple H for reminding him "who he really is" during a moment when his confidence was at its lowest. He explained that before a later high-stakes match, doubt overwhelmed him backstage — until Triple H approached him and told him not to forget who he was, reminding him bluntly: "You're the effing Undertaker." He credited that moment with pulling him back into the right headspace before heading to the ring.

BY JITU JANGIR

Carlito has opened up about his WWE career, admitting that he was so rebellious during his first run with the company that he would deliberately do things in an attempt to get himself fired. Speaking on Inside The Ropes, Carlito said he was immature at the time and often acted against instructions simply because he had been told not to do something. He revealed that he eventually turned getting fired into something of a personal challenge. “I was doing stuff on purpose to get fired. I'm surprised I didn't get fired,” Carlito recalled. The former Intercontinental Champion explained that WWE eventually reached a point where they would neither use him prominently nor release him, which made the situation even more frustrating for him. Carlito admitted that, looking back, he regrets his attitude during that period. He believes he should have been more mature and appreciated the opportunities he had, particularly the chance to work alongside his brother in WWE. “I wish I'd appreciate stuff a little more and just not been so against the world,” he said. Carlito also compared his two WWE runs, saying that he enjoyed his second stint considerably more than his first. He attributed much of the difference to his own attitude and maturity, noting that he viewed things differently as he got older. The veteran star also addressed his more recent WWE departure. According to Carlito, he intentionally signed a shorter contract because he believed that, with Triple H in charge, he might not receive a significant role. He eventually signed a two-year deal, but acknowledged that the shorter commitment ultimately cost him additional years with the company. Carlito said he had already sensed that his time in WWE was coming to an end because there had been little communication between him and the company. He ultimately accepted the situation and said his main goal was to leave WWE while fans still cared about him. Now, Carlito says he is comfortable with whatever comes next. He suggested that retirement is a genuine possibility but remains open to opportunities if something exciting comes along. “I can retire now, baby,” Carlito said, explaining that he feels like he is now “playing with house money.” He added that if another opportunity comes along, great—but he is also completely comfortable riding off into the sunset.

BY JITU JANGIR

During the August 3rd episode of Raw, Becky Lynch delivered a promo aimed at putting down her opponent by invoking Liv Morgan's personal life, specifically her relationship with Dominik Mysterio. The line suggested Morgan couldn't even claim to be the top former champion among the group of women Dominik had been involved with — a jab that mixed in-ring credentials with real-world tabloid-style content. Per Meltzer's report, the line referenced Liv Morgan not being the best wrestler to have been involved with Dominik Mysterio, comparing her unfavorably even within that specific, unusual category. It was a pointed, mocking remark clearly meant to needle Morgan on a personal level rather than a purely athletic one — which likely explains why it didn't make the cut for the on-demand version. What makes this situation more interesting is the confirmation that Lynch wasn't going off-script. Meltzer's sources indicated the line was written into the show ahead of time, and that Triple H, along with other members of WWE's creative and production team, knew exactly what Lynch was going to say before she said it live. That detail shifts the narrative. Rather than this being a case of a performer pushing boundaries in the heat of the moment, it appears WWE intentionally included the line in the broadcast — then made the call afterward to scrub it from the version available on streaming. This raises questions about WWE's internal content standards, particularly the gap between what's deemed acceptable for a live, one-time TV airing versus what stays up permanently on a platform like Netflix, where the show is archived and easily clipped, shared, and re-watched. It also suggests WWE may be more cautious than usual about content that blurs the line between kayfabe rivalry and real-life personal references, especially now that Netflix serves as a long-term home for the product rather than a same-day-only broadcast.

BY JITU JANGIR

Another high-level departure is making waves inside WWE's corporate structure, and this one is raising eyebrows for how quietly it happened. Patrick Dooley, who held the title of Senior Vice President of Global Strategy & Creative Operations, has exited the company after roughly seven years with the organization. His departure wasn't announced with any fanfare — it simply happened in July, and word only trickled out afterward. What makes Dooley's exit notable isn't just his tenure, but his role. According to Wrestling Observer Newsletter's Dave Meltzer, Dooley functioned as Triple H's right-hand man on essentially everything outside of creative and storyline decisions — the operational and strategic side of the business that rarely gets public attention but keeps the machine running. Dooley joined WWE back in 2018 as Director of Global Strategy, working his way up over the years. Per Meltzer's reporting, he played a significant role in one of WWE's more consequential business moves: the acquisition of Mexican promotion AAA, along with helping secure AAA's television deal with FOX Latin America — a partnership that expanded WWE's footprint in the Latin American market considerably. Perhaps the most interesting detail Meltzer shared is where this call actually originated. Rather than coming from within WWE's own leadership, the decision reportedly traces back to TKO's top brass — CEO Ari Emanuel and President/COO Mark Shapiro. Meltzer indicated that people within WWE itself were caught off guard by the move, suggesting this wasn't something brewing internally or expected by those close to Dooley. Beyond that, details remain scarce. No official reason has been given publicly, and it's unclear whether this reflects broader restructuring at the TKO corporate level or something specific to Dooley's role.

BY SUNIT JANGIR

Mumbai, August 8 - The 2000 crore worldwide mark remains one of the most elusive milestones in Indian cinema. Aamir Khan's sports biopic Dangal is the only Indian film to have crossed this barrier, but there is an important caveat to that historic run: more than half of the film's worldwide gross came from China, with 1300+ crore gross. The Chinese market delivered an extraordinary response to Dangal, turning it into a once-in-a-generation box-office phenomenon, but China is not a regular theatrical market for Indian films. That makes the 2000 crore benchmark even more difficult to replicate. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}) In recent years, however, Indian cinema has started getting closer to that number without depending on a China phenomenon. Director Aditya Dhar's Dhurandhar 2 came remarkably close, emerging as one of the biggest Indian blockbusters ever with a worldwide gross of more than 1800 crore. The Ranveer Singh-led action entertainer demonstrated that an Indian film can come within striking distance of Dangal through the conventional domestic and overseas markets. Yet, despite its extraordinary run, Dhurandhar 2 ultimately couldn't touch the 2000 crore milestone, leaving the record intact. This is where Ramayana comes into play. The Ranbir Kapoor, Sai Pallavi and Yash starrer has several advantages that could make it a genuine contender for the 2000 crore club, but perhaps the biggest one is its international distribution strategy. The film is being released internationally by Sony Pictures, arguably one of the biggest and most powerful film distribution companies in the world. This could give Ramayana an unprecedented opportunity to reach audiences outside India. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}) According to reports, Sony Pictures is planning to release Ramayana across more than 50,000 screens internationally. If that rollout materialises, it would easily be the widest international theatrical release ever for an Indian film by a considerable margin. The significance of this cannot be overstated. Indian films have traditionally relied heavily on diaspora audiences overseas, with relatively limited screen penetration compared with Hollywood event films. Ramayana could potentially change that model. The scale of the international release could also help the film overcome one of the biggest challenges in its two thousand crore pursuit. Unlike Dangal, Ramayana cannot be expected to receive an enormous China boost. Instead, it will need to maximise revenue across established Indian-film markets as well as territories where Indian cinema is still expanding. A distribution giant like Sony Pictures gives the film the infrastructure, market access and theatrical reach to attempt exactly that. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}) The domestic side is equally promising. Ranbir Kapoor gives Ramayana a strong Hindi-market foundation, while Yash brings enormous pan-India popularity. More importantly, the Ramayana itself is arguably one of the most recognisable stories to emerge from India, giving the film an advantage that very few original or franchise properties can match. Dhurandhar 2 proved that an Indian film can get within roughly 200 crore of Dangal's worldwide record without relying on a China phenomenon. Ramayana, meanwhile, could have an even bigger international theatrical footprint thanks to Sony Pictures and a reported 50,000-plus overseas screens. Of course, a massive release does not automatically guarantee a massive box office. Ramayana will still need excellent audience reception, strong word of mouth and exceptional legs to turn its enormous release scale into actual revenue. But for the first time, the infrastructure appears to be in place for an Indian film to genuinely attempt this. Dangal set the 2,000 crore benchmark. Dhurandhar 2 came remarkably close but couldn't finish the job. Now, Ramayana has the opportunity to take the next big step. If the film lives up to its enormous pre-release expectations, the combination of the epic story, star power, scale and strong distribution power could make the barrier a very real target rather than just a distant box-office dream.

BY SUNIT JANGIR

Mumbai, August 8 - Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures' Spider-Man: Brand New Day is on the verge of creating history at the Indian box office. The Tom Holland-led superhero film has already emerged as one of the biggest Hollywood blockbusters ever in the country and is now expected to become the highest-grossing non-Indian film in India by the end of its second weekend. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}) Spider-Man: Brand New Day has grossed approximately 418.25 crore in India after its second Friday, completing nine days at the box office. The film continues to show strong momentum in its second week, despite facing competition from new releases. With the film maintaining its pace, the next major target is Avengers: Endgame, which currently holds the second position among the highest-grossing Hollywood films in India with a lifetime gross of around 445 crore. The fourth Tom Holland-led solo Spider-Man movie is expected to cross Avengers: Endgame on its second Saturday itself. Once that milestone is achieved, Brand New Day will have only one major target left — Avatar: The Way of Water. James Cameron's 2022 blockbuster has collected approximately 477.50 crore gross in India, and the current trajectory suggests that Spider-Man 4 could overtake that figure by Sunday, giving it the all-time non-Indian box-office record in the country. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}) The second weekend is turning out to be equally historic. The film is expected to collect 80 crore or more gross during its second weekend, which would be a record second weekend for a non-Indian film in India. The remarkable hold is particularly significant considering the film has already delivered a gigantic opening week and is now sustaining exceptional audience demand in its second week. If the film crosses the 477.50 crore mark by Sunday, Brand New Day is also expected to breach the 500 crore gross milestone before the second week ends, which will be a first instance for a foreign movie. It would also underline the extraordinary theatrical pull of Tom Holland's Spider-Man franchise in the Indian market, following the phenomenal performance of Spider-Man: No Way Home, which is currently the fifth biggest grosser. The bigger question now is how far Spider-Man: Brand New Day can go. With the 500 crore gross milestone firmly within reach, the film could potentially create a new benchmark that may remain extremely difficult for another Hollywood release to challenge until Avengers: Doomsday, which arrives in December this year with the potential to shatter almost every record at the Indian box office for Hollywood.