Context: Climate change and increasing drought conditions severely impact maize productivity in semi-arid regions. In this context, the application of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi and plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) offers a promising solution to enhance crop resilience. Despite of their potential, the synergistic effects of AM fungi and PGPR on plant growth, particularly regarding phytohormone signaling, photosynthetic efficiency, and nutrient allocation during critical growth stages of dryland maize, remain poorly understood. Objectives: To investigate the sole and synergistic effects of AM fungi and PGPR on the periodic regulation of phytohormones to enhance the productivity of dryland maize. Methods: A two-year field experiment was conducted to evaluate the impact of AM fungi (Rhizophagus irregularis SUN16 and Glomus monosporum WUM11), and PGPR (Azotobacter chroococcum GSICC 30112 and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens GSICC 32826) under plastic film mulching (PFM) at critical growth stages (jointing, silking, and pre-harvest) of dryland maize. Results: We found that sole inoculation with AM fungi, sole PGPR, and their co-inoculation significantly (p < 0.5) influenced plant signaling hormones, with co-inoculation exhibiting the most pronounced effects under PFM. Notably, co-inoculation also enhanced photosynthetic pigments (up to 85.19 %), photosynthesis (up to 64.73 %), along with improved nutrient translocation. Increases were observed in nitrogen (38.44-107.79 %), phosphorus (32.42-79.62 %), and potassium (43.71-155.97 %) concentrations in both shoots and roots. These improvements were most evident at silking and pre-harvest stages, where improved nutrient partitioning contributed to more efficient biomass accumulation. Conclusions: Co-inoculation with AM fungi and PGPR synergistically boosted plant signaling hormones, activated photosynthetic processes, and improved nutrient distribution, leading to enhanced maize growth under PFM in semi-arid regions. Implications: Our findings highlight the potential of early management of co-inoculation integrated with PFM and could provide new insights for improving maize productivity.