Sankranthi 2026: Prabhas versus NTR in the race

Sankranthi 2026 is going to be a feast for Telugu cinema fans as Prabhas and Jr. NTR will fight it out at the box office with their respective films.

The “Kabir Singh” fame director Sandeep Reddy Vanga has teamed up with Prabhas for the action-thriller movie “Spirit”. He plays a police officer in it.

On the other hand, Jr. NTR is going to feature in “Dragon”, directed by Prashanth Neel. The shoot for this film will be starting in October 2024, and it will release during Sankranthi 20266.

This would be the first time the films of these two superstars are going to release together, hence making it a moment the fans of both have been waiting for2.

Young Tiger NTR will team up with Prashanth Neel for a film tentatively titled Dragon. A little while ago, the formal release date of the film was announced. The regular shooting will commence after NTR is relieved from Devara. Presently, Prashanth Neel is finalizing the actors and technicians for the shoot. The shoot will start from October, according to an update from the makers. They said that the film will hit the theaters during the Sankranthi of 2026. Prabhas has confirmed his next with Animal fame Sandeep Reddy Vanga, and the shoot kicks off early next year. The film is an actioner and has been titled Spirit. In this one too, Prabhas plays a cop.

The update says that Spirit is getting ready for a Sankranthi release in 2026 if everything goes according to plan. Then, NTR and Prabhas would clash for the first time. With star power and the filmmakers, expectations will be high from both Dragon and Spirit. This would be an exciting fight, no doubt. NTR is fast wrapping up Devara and Prabhas will start shooting in a couple of weeks for Raja Saab by Maruthi. The latter is aiming for a summer release next year.
Officially announcing Jr NTR and Prashanth Neel’s film release date, it can be pitted against Prabhas’ Spirit. Several years of gossip later, the makers finally gave an official update about the highly-anticipated film by Jr. NTR and Prashanth Neel. The release date of the film was announced a day before yesterday, and fans are already excited but the point is that they have to wait for almost a year and a half. In the meantime, as claimed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s earlier statement, Prabhas’ Spirit and NTR-Neel’s next might be bound to collide at the box office.
Well, everyone was waiting for an update regarding the NTR and Neel cooperation ever since it was announced. Finally, the makers revealed that the action extravaganza will hit the theatres on January 9, 2026. Yes, you read it right! The big one is arriving in 2026, and it hit the floors yesterday.
As of today, Jr NTR and Prashanth Neel’s film, tentatively titled ‘Dragon’, became the first Tollywood film to get locked in for the release slot during the 2026 Sankranti festive season. Yet, by the same time, it might not be the only star from Tollywood appearing in front of the audience at the pan-India level during Sankranti. Sandeep Reddy Vanga booked the slot a few months ago.

While Ranbir Kapoor’s Animal was being hyped, Sandeep Reddy Vanga had announced plans to release his Spirit, with Prabhas in the lead, around Christmas 2025 or Sankranti 2026. Now, word comes in that the Prabhas-led film may just get delayed and may only be released towards the end of 2024.

Whether Spirit is going to be in the Christmas 2025 race is not confirmed, but a Sankranti 2026 release looks on the cards. Sankranti season is the peak festival season in the Telugu circuit. It is a time that is always busy and profitable for big films. So, there cannot be a denial of a potential fight between Prabhas and Jr NTR-Prashanth Neel.