Lights, Camera, Scoop: SRK Resumes 'King' As Excited Fans Leak Look; 'The Conjuring: Last Rites' and 'Baaghi 4' Box-Office Updates

'King is Back'

Shah Rukh Khan can trend on X with a single post, and thanks to his fans, sometimes even with a leaked image. On late Thursday evening, Khan was spotted in Poland, arriving on the sets of his new film, King. Videos emerged of him stepping out of his car, carefully shielding his look with a hoodie, while attendants swarmed around him, holding giant umbrellas to ward off prying eyes. But it was only a matter of time before his salt-and-pepper avatar was caught on camera, sending the Internet into overdrive. The viral image showcased Khan's rugged new look, complete with black sunglasses and visible tattoos.

Khan's team and fan clubs quickly swung into action and posted a message requesting people to share the leaked look. "Let's keep the magic alive and enjoy the big reveal together," read a note, which was also shared by the superstar's manager, Pooja Dadlani.

But, this was still a hurrah moment for some fans, who had been patiently waiting (and even low-key praying) for his return on sets after the actor injured himself during a previous schedule of the film while doing a stunt. It resulted in a surgery, with the 59-year-old being spotted with his right hand in a sling, during the video of his National Award win and the trailer launch of his son Aaryan's directorial debut The Ba***ds of Bollywood.

The King schedule had taken a hit due to Khan's injury, delaying the shooting timelines by months. But now, the crew is back on track with other cast members joining Khan for the shoot, including Arshad Warsi. When Warsi shared a cryptic post on Instagram from the European country, declaring that he was shooting with his "favourite", director Siddharth Aanand dropped a cheeky comment: Welcome to the Kingdom.

While the makers were initially eyeing a grand October 2, 2026, release for King, the big action-thriller will likely now zero in on a new date, with industry insiders speculating that it could be the Republic Day weekend of 2027. Pathaan, Khan's smashing comeback vehicle, also debuted in the same weekend in 2023.

'Highest 2 Lowest'

It was yet another Friday where franchise films clashed, and a Hollywood biggie took a giant lead. The Conjuring: Last Rites set a new record for horror films in India, while Tiger Shroff-led Baaghi 4, his latest actioner, raised some eyebrows.

Headlined by Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, the final film in The Conjuring universe has emerged as the highest-grossing horror film in India on day one, beating Ajay Devgn's Shaitaan (remake of the acclaimed Gujarati feature Vash), which had opened a little over ₹15 crore.

According to early trade estimates, The Conjuring: Last Rites netted ₹17 crore on its opening day, including collections from special midnight shows on Thursday. Though the word of mouth of the Warner Bros film seems to be mixed, The Conjuring: Last Rites is heading to record a sensational weekend of nearly ₹60 crore.

The horror film is the clear winner of Friday, which also saw the release of Sivakarthikeyan-led Madhraasi (estimated opening of around ₹13 crore as per Sacnilk) and The Bengal Files, which is under ₹2 crore.

Baaghi 4, the big Hindi release of the week, managed to net around ₹11-12 crore on day one as well, but not without the trade casting doubts on the genuineness of the figures. Box Office India, the trade tracker whose numbers the industry largely relies on, said Baaghi 4 will have "more water than milk as far as day one collections go."

"Manufactured box office is very rampant in the industry," the site noted in its Baaghi 4 report, stating that some films in recent times have pushed the opening day by "5-20 percent". While the extent of this is unclear, Pinkvilla reported that the first day numbers of Baaghi 4 include "an external push to a large extent," noting that without it, "the numbers would be much lower."

Either way, even by official figures of around ₹11-12 crore, Baaghi 4 will be one of the lowest openers of the franchise, which debuted with around ₹12 crore in 2016, followed by a huge jump in collections for the sequel in 2018, when it netted ₹25 crore on day one. In 2020, when Baaghi 3 released just before the lockdown, the film opened at ₹17 crore.