2025 has been a very mixed bag for Pakistani cinema. On the one hand, theaters haven’t seen this kind of foot traffic for many years. People have been going to watch films from all over the world including Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan, Hollywood, India, etc. However, local cinema’s offerings have been nothing more than sprinkles on the proverbial cinematic cake.
That being said, after a very long time, people have started going back to theaters, and there’s a chance that if a variety of films is presented to the audience, they’ll keep coming.
Pakistani Films are Still Hit or Miss
Since the pandemic ended, very few films from Pakistan have been huge hits. Thankfully, in 2025, two local films ruled the box office for several weeks and generated huge totals. Even though films from all over the world were constantly being released, people came to watch Pakistani films in droves.
At no time was that more true than on Eid Ul Azha. Both ‘Love Guru’ and ‘Deemak’ attracted more than their fair share of audiences.
‘Deemak’, in particular, managed to exceed expectations. According to director Rafay Rashdi, it collected PKR 17.7 crore at the local box office and PKR 2.9 crore at overseas markets, for a total of PKR 20.6 crore.
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Humayun Saeed remained the king of consistent box office returns with ‘Love Guru’. He and Mahira Khan together generated a local box office collection of over PKR 45 crore, and a global box office total of PKR 80 crore. Unadjusted for inflation, that’s Humayun Saeed’s highest total ever
For the rest of the year, including on Eid Ul Fitr, Pakistani films opened to largely empty theaters. Yours truly couldn’t even find a single show for the Shaz Khan movie “The Martial Artist” because several theaters pulled their shows. As for other Eid releases like “Ishq-e-Lahore”, “Kabeer”, “Qulfee” and “Half Fry”, none managed to make a splash at the box office.
The year’s major latest release, Fawad Khan and Mahira Khan’s ‘Neelofar’ is still running in cinemas, with multiple shows every day. It has managed to collect 10 Cr domestically, so far. However, it now faces stiff competition from new titles such as ‘Avatar: Fire & Ash’, ‘Anaconda’, ‘The Spongebob Movie: Search For Squarepants’, ‘Now You See Me: Now You Don’t’, and ‘The Housemaid’.
Needless to say, local cinema needs to up its game in 2026.
Regional Films Make a Comeback
Two small, independent, experimental films were released this year in regional languages. That’s a rarity in Pakistan.
Hundan (Echo of a Dirge), a film in the Burushaski language from Gilgit Baltistan, adapted a folk story that has been told across generations. It was given a very limited release for special screenings.
Sindhu Ji Goonj (Indus Echoes), the first Sindhi language film in nearly 30 years, was given a limited release in Sindh. An anthology film, it told stories about people who were tied to the Indus river in some way or the other.
Sindhu Ji Goonj especially has been screened at film festivals around the world. More cinema like this needs to be encouraged so that stories from the roots of Pakistan are shared with the world.
Anime Films Have Reached Pakistani Theaters
Something completely unexpected happened in Pakistani cinema this year; a major anime film released in Pakistan, before it was released in the US. ‘Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle’ was released in Pakistan on Independence Day in 2025, nearly a month before it hit western markets including Europe, the US, and Canada.
This was huge for Pakistan. Demon Slayer is the biggest anime franchise in the world right now, and is now entering its finale arc; comprised of 3 films. The first of those being released in Pakistan at a major holiday is very significant.
And it didn’t turn out to be a one-time thing. ‘Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc’ was released in Pakistan this year on September 26th, just a week after it was released in its home country of Japan. Chainsaw Man is another major anime series right now, so it’s incredible that it came to Pakistan too.
While official box office figures haven’t been released for either film, noted film critic and journalist Mohammad Kamran Jawaid told us that both films were very well received in Pakistan. Demon Slayer kept running in cinemas for 4-6 weeks, and Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc managed a respectable run of about 2 weeks.
Moreover, our team has found that anime film releases have been getting more frequent in Pakistan in the past few years. If the trend continues, the Otaku/Weeb community in Pakistan won’t be found wanting for theatrical events in the future.
Horror Films are Still Making Their Mark
Horror films made splashes in Pakistan this year as they have been since 2024. Since ‘Sijjin’ was released in 2024, Pakistani distributors have been importing horror films from all over the globe. Films from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Hollywood, Bangladesh, etc. have been making the rounds ever since.
In 2025, horror films like ‘Final Destination: Bloodlines’, ‘Bring Her Back’, ‘Siccin 8’ (Turkish horror film), ‘28 Years Later’, ‘Companion’, ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’ (2025) were all released in Pakistan. Again official figures aren’t available, but the genre must be minting some money if distributors continue to import these films.
Local horror movie ‘Deemak’ was released when some of the aforementioned horror films were making the rounds here. Its success shows that well made horror films have a place in Pakistani cinema.
Indian Punjabi Films Continue their Domination
Indian Punjabi films were again big money spinners in Pakistan this year. Diljit Dosanjh’s ‘Sardaar Ji 3’, which also starred Hania Aamir, made a huge splash at the local box office. It grossed over PKR 51 crore, beating even ‘Love Guru’ at the local box office.
‘Enna Nu Rehna Sehna Ni Aunda’, a co-production between Indian Punjab and Pakistan starring Imran Ashraf and Jassie Gill also generated a respectable total of over PKR 15 crore.
Indian Punjabi films continued to be safe bets this year, once again.
2026 is right around the corner, and there is a lot of hope that certain films which weren’t released this year would make the rounds then. Let’s hope that 2025 is only a steppingstone, and that Pakistan’s cinema will go from strength to strength in the future.
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