Asian Cinemas is set to partner with Megastar Chiranjeevi for a huge premium cinema property in Hyderabad’s Financial District, and the ambition behind it is not just another luxury multiplex, it is a genuine shot at the world’s largest cinema screen.
The current record holder is Traumpalast Leonberg in Germany, which holds the Guinness World Record for the largest operating cinema screen at 127 feet wide by 69 feet tall, a massive 8,770 square feet, paired with 574 recliners and IMAX’s dual laser projection system. For height, the record belongs to Royal Cinemas 14 IMAX in Pooler, Georgia, USA, at 101 feet wide by 76.2 feet tall, spanning 7,696 square feet with 363 recliners. Any Hyderabad property aiming for a world record would need to genuinely challenge these numbers, not just come close to them.
This is not Asian Cinemas’ first star collaboration. The chain already runs AMB Cinemas with Mahesh Babu, AAA Cinemas with Allu Arjun, and has an upcoming property with Venkatesh at RTC Cross Roads. Reports earlier this year had already pointed to a Chiranjeevi and Ram Charan multiplex being planned in Gachibowli, and this Financial District development appears to be that plan scaling up into something far bigger than originally expected.
Hyderabad’s premium cinema race has been heating up fast. Allu Cinemas in Kokapet recently launched India’s largest Dolby Cinema screen at 75 feet wide, and Asian Cinemas itself has been working on bringing IMAX back to the city after a 12 year gap. A Chiranjeevi backed property aiming for a literal world record would instantly put Hyderabad on the global map for cinema infrastructure, not just the Indian one.
If this comes together at the scale being discussed, Hyderabad would move from competing for India’s biggest screen to competing for the world’s biggest screen outright, a genuinely different league. For a city that has already shown strong appetite for premium theatre experiences, this could become one of the most talked about entertainment destinations in the country once it opens.