Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Love & War is already generating huge interest in the trade ahead of its theatrical release. Headlined by Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt and Vicky Kaushal, the epic romantic war drama is reportedly attracting competition from three major companies for its distribution rights. With the bidders reportedly negotiating around Rs 300 crore, the film’s pre-release business has become a major talking point months before its January 2027 release. The movie, that has been delayed a couple of times, seems to be very much in-demand.

According to Variety India, Dharma Productions, Zee Studios and Pen Marudhar are competing to acquire the theatrical distribution rights for Love & War. The negotiations are reportedly taking place around the Rs 300 crore mark. The interest surrounding the film is not surprising given its star-studded cast, director and scale. Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt and Vicky Kaushal are coming together for the first time as a trio, while Sanjay Leela Bhansali is mounting the project as a large-scale romantic war drama.

With almost five months remaining before the film arrives in theatres, the theatrical distribution deal could play an important role in reducing the financial recovery pressure on the makers. The film has reportedly already recovered more than Rs 200 crore through its non-theatrical business. Netflix is said to have acquired the post-theatrical streaming rights for approximately Rs 130 crore. The music and satellite rights have reportedly generated another Rs 70 crore to Rs 80 crore.

The final schedule of Love & War reportedly began on August 3 at Royal Palms in Goregaon. According to Mid-Day, Bhansali is looking to complete the shoot by August 31 as the three lead actors have other major professional commitments lined up. The final schedule is expected to include two large-scale war sequences as well as dance numbers. The war portions will reportedly feature around 50 stunt performers and between 300 and 350 junior artistes.

The production team has reportedly allocated 10 rehearsal days for the sequences, with the focus on coordinating combat choreography and the movement of large crowds. Ranbir Kapoor is also expected to move into the promotional phase of Ramayana after completing his work on the SLB film. Love & War was initially planned for a Christmas 2025 release before being pushed to March 20, 2026. It was subsequently postponed again and is now scheduled to arrive in theatres on January 21, 2027.