Dhuradhar-2, Toxic, Mardaani-3, Border-2: Will patriotism fervour run high for PVR Inox?

Domestic brokerage firms continue to remain positive on PVR Inox, India's largest multiplex chain, considering releases of a slew of sequels based on patriotism including Sunny Deol and Varun Dhawan Starrer 'Border-2', Rani Mukherjee starrer 'Mardaani-3', Ravneer Singh-led 'Dhurandhar-2' and Yash's 'Toxic' in the coming weeks.

PVR Inox (PVR Ltd) is currently trading close to the lower end of its one-year forward EV/EBITDA valuation band, according to PL Capital. The brokerage suggests this positioning provides a valuation cushion and earnings comfort for investors at the current market price.

PL Capital notes earnings have sharply rebounded in 2QFY26, marking it as the second-best quarter since COVID. 3QFY26E is expected to mirror the previous quarter with anticipated revenues of Rs 18.6 billion and a pre-IND AS EBITDA margin of 15.8%.

The report also highlights a promising film release pipeline for 4QFY26E. Three big-ticket releases—Border 2, Dhurandhar 2, and Toxic—are set for launch, with Border 2's release aligned with Republic Day and a long weekend for additional box-office boost. Regional movies released in January 2026, including The Raja Saab and Mana ShankaraVaraprasad Garu, have netted strong collections.

Since COVID, volatility in content flow and inconsistency in profits have led to a de-rating in PVR Inox's valuation multiple, in contrast to FY14-FY19 when the company never made an EBITDA-level loss.

Despite this, the first three quarters of FY26E have been positive, and FY26E could be the first fiscal year since the pandemic to report profitability at the pre-IND EBITDA level across all four quarters.

Momentum is anticipated to persist into FY27E, with PL Capital projecting a pre-IND AS EBITDA margin of 16.0%. The brokerage maintains a BUY rating on the stock with a target price of Rs 1,261, based on 10.5x FY27E EBITDA.

Shares of PVR Inox rose nearly 3 per cent on Thursday to Rs 977.35, with a total market capitalization close to Rs 9,500 crore. The stock is down 24 per cent from its 52-week high at Rs 1,249, hit in October 2025. The stock is down nearly 10 per cent in the last one month, while it has fallen 5 per cent in 2025 so far.

Commenting on the Q3 results expectations of PVR Inox, Nirmal Bang Institutional Equities  said that the quarter will continue the momentum set in 1HFY26 and is poised to become the best quarter of FY26 so far. It believes occupancies will come in closer to 28- 29 per cent on the back of strong content across all genres. It sees average ticket price (ATP) up by 3% 

"We expect strong YoY revenue growth and positive Ebitda margins on the back of resurgence in Bollywood and Hollywood content where PVRINOX has a larger share of 35-40 p and 60-65%, respectively. As content continues to resonate, we believe there will be a footfall growth of ~9% on YoY basis as audiences embrace the theatrical experience," it said.

According to Nirmal Bang, advertising revenue cross pre-pandemic level; details about its ongoing efforts to make the entity asset light by focusing on management contracts; outlook on becoming the net debt zero; and updates on JV with Devyani International shall be key things to focus on in the call. It has a 'buy' rating on the stock with a target price of Rs 1,358.

PVR -Inox revenue may grow 11.3% YoY in Q3E; which is ahead of overall box office indicating potential market share gain for PVR -Inox, on hits such as Dhurandhar , Tere Ishk Mein, and Kantara: A Legend Chapter-1, which may have help ed footfalls grow 7.0% YoY to 40mn and occupancy to 28.0% in Q3E, said Elara Capital.

"We expect net SPH and ATP to grow by 3.6%/4.1% YoY to INR 142 and INR 245 in Q3E. PVR Inox likely added net 20 screens in Q3FY26, taking the total to 1,777, up 1.8% YoY. We expect PVR -Inox ’s revenue to grow 11.3% YoY to Rs 1,900 crore and reach EBITDA margin of 16.3% in Q3E," it added with an accumulate rating and a target price of Rs 1,225.