Release

Thugs of Hindostan was released in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu with 3D and IMAX formats.[60] According
to trade analyst Taran Adarsh, the film was initially released in 7000 screens worldwide, including
5,000 in India and 2,000 overseas, the widest for any Hindi film.[61]
In Pakistan, the film was released without any cuts, on 120 screens, which is the biggest number of
screens for any release in the country. The film was distributed by IMGC, while Geo Films served as
a media partner.[62]

Marketing
The Yash Raj Films's marketing team began their promotion of the film on Monday, 17 September
2018: an official logo and title card was revealed on their YouTube channel.[63] The following day,
a motion poster of Khudabaksh, the commanding thug played by Bachchan, was released.[64] This
was the first of a systematic marketing campaign that introduced the film's characters to the general
public consistently throughout the week, using motion posters. On 19 September, the second
character to be revealed was the archer Zafira, played by Shaikh.[65] John Clive, played by Owen, a
ruthless British leader, was revealed on 20 September.[66] Suraiyya, a dancer played by Kaif, was
displayed on 21 September.[67] 3 days later, the poster of Firangi, played by Khan, who was an
eccentric-looking, donkey-riding thug, was revealed.[68]
On 26 September, Khan and Bachchan released a promotional video which featured them speaking
in Telugu and Tamil, urging native audiences to watch the film.[9] On 27 September, Yash Raj Films'
founder Yash Chopra's 86th birthday, the film's trailer was released on YouTube.[69] The trailer launch
was held in Carnival Cinemas, Wadala, Mumbai, on India's biggest IMAX screen, along with the
presence of the film's cast.[70] The trailer crossed 30 million views on YouTube on the first day,[5] and
crossed 32 million views across digital social media platforms in 24 hours.[71] Dubbed versions were
also launched in Tamil by Kamal Haasan and in Telugu by S. S. Rajamouli.[72] It is set to be released
in India during the week of the Diwali festival, on 8 November 2018.[73][5]
On 8 October, a five-minute behind-the-scenes video which details the film's ship-construction
process in Malta, titled "Chapter 1: Building the Ships," was posted on Yash Raj Films' YouTube
channel.[74] The following day, another making video was released, which mentioned the process that
went into filming on the constructed ships, titled "Chapter 2: Shooting on the Ships".[75] On 10
October 2018, a third making video titled "Chapter 3: Destroying the Ship" was released, when one
of the constructed ships had to be destroyed for a one-take shot.[76] The film's second still poster was
released on 13 October.[77] On 15 October, a still from the song "Vashmalle", which was directed by
Prabhu Deva and features Khan and Bachchan dancing, was released. Acharya revealed that the
song would feature Khan and Bachchan's characters getting drunk and dancing.[78]
On 17 October, YRF released a one-minute long clip of the song "Vashmalle" from the film, featuring
a dance montage featuring Bachchan and Khan, on their YouTube channel.[79] A fourth making video
was released on 19 October 2018, titled "Chapter 4: Training For Action", which revealed the
schedule undergone by the cast for preparing the part of their character.[80] On 23 October, Yash Raj
Films released a full four-minute lyrical video for the song "Vashmalle."[81] The following day, 24
October, a still from the song "Suraiyya" was released by the makers.[82] Later that day, a teaser of
the song was released on YouTube.[83] On 25 October, a behind-the-scenes video for the "Suraiyya"
song, detailing its conception and rehearsals, was released.[84] On 29 October, YRF released a
"Costume of the Thugs" video, revealing the concept art and design elements that went into
constructing the characters' outfits.[85]
Between 30 October and 2 November, the company released several promotional videos on their
channel, including a 14-minute long jukebox, the making of the song "Manzoor-e-Khuda",[86] "Thugs
in Thailand" - revealing their shooting of the Thugs' cave lair sequences[87] and "The Two Legends,"
featuring Khan and Bachchan's opinions about working with each other for the first time.[88] On 1
November, Yash Raj Films partnered with Google, replacing the navigation symbol on all Google
Maps services in India with Firangi Mallah's character, who occasionally recites dialogue from the
film.[89] On 3 November, YRF released two new videos on their YouTube channel: "Thugs in
Rajasthan," which chronicles the crew's filming at Mehran Fort in Jodhpur, and a "Manzoor-e-Khuda"
song video with completed lyrics.[90]
By 6 November, three more videos were uploaded on YouTube, including character introduction
videos for Khudabaksh and Firangi,[91] with the actors and crew talking about the development and
artistry of the two characters, and a lullaby song sung by Bachchan for the film, titled "Lori."[92] On 16
November 2018, the official Hindi trailer crossed 100 million views on YouTube.[93] It became the first
Indian trailer to cross 100 million views on the site, and is the YouTube's second most-watched
Indian trailer of all time[94][95][96][97] after Zero's trailer, which surpassed it soon.[98]