Tollywood
The Raja Saab Faces Major Setback as Avatar 3 Takes Over All IMAX Screens for Four Weeks
In a disappointing turn of events for fans of pan-India star Prabhas, his much-anticipated film, The Raja Saab, will not be released in IMAX format. The reason behind this is a direct clash with James Cameron's highly awaited Avatar: Fire and Ash,the third installment in the blockbuster franchise. The news was confirmed by Prathyangira Cinemas, the overseas distributor for The Raja Saab,in a recent social media announcement. According to their statement, a four-week exclusive contract between Avatar 3 and IMAX will prevent The Raja Saab from being screened in the premium large-screen format. Due to the exclusive 4-week contract between Avatar3 and IMAX, IMAX is unable to support TheRajaSaab. So there will be no IMAX format for this film, the distributor stated. The scheduling conflict arises from the films' release dates. Avatar: Fire and Ash is set for a global release on December 19, 2025, while The Raja Saab is slated to hit theaters shortly after on January 9, 2026, coinciding with the Sankranti festival. This places the Prabhas-starrer squarely within the exclusivity window for the Hollywood behemoth. The challenge for The Raja Saab doesn't end with IMAX. Prathyangira Cinemas also revealed that other specialty formats such as PLF and DBOX are tied up with Avatar 3 for the same four-week period. However, the distributor has assured fans that they are pushing hard to secure as many special-format shows as possible. The Raja Saab is a romantic horror-comedy directed by Maruthi Dasari.The film features a star-studded cast including Prabhas, Malavika Mohanan, Nidhhi Agerwal, and Sanjay Dutt. The movie promises to showcase a different side of Prabhas, known for his action-packed roles. Interestingly, despite the setback with premium screens, the distributors of The Raja Saab have opened advance bookings in the US. This has sparked a debate among fans, with reports indicating that the ticket prices for the Prabhas-starrer are higher than those for Avatar: Fire and Ash, leading to some surprise and discussion on social media.
