Kamal Ghorui
With just days to go for the release of Dhurandhar: The Revenge, the buzz around the Ranveer Singh starrer has reached unprecedented levels. Riding high on the success of its first part, the sequel is already making waves with massive advance bookings and near housefull paid previews.
‘We are looking at Rs 45–50 crore from previews alone’
Trade experts are betting big on the film’s box office prospects, with Kamal Gianchandani expressing strong confidence in its opening numbers.“I hope it breaks the record of Dhurandhar one and becomes the first Hindi film to cross Rs 1,000 crore nett. The dubbed versions will be an added advantage,” he told PTI.
Highlighting the scale of the opening, he added, “We are looking at Rs 45 to 50 crore nett on Wednesday from paid previews, and that too on a weekday starting from half-day.”The film has already sold over 4 lakh tickets for its preview shows, which begin from Wednesday evening.
‘No precedent… the excitement is phenomenal’
The frenzy is clearly visible in advance bookings, which have crossed one million tickets across languages on PVR INOX’s platform alone.“At PVR INOX, we have not seen this sort of advance booking even pre-COVID-19. The excitement is phenomenal—there’s no precedent. It looks like the film is going to take a massive opening,” Gianchandani added.The demand spans metros like Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai, while also extending to Tier-II cities such as Pune, Ahmedabad, Lucknow and Coimbatore.
‘A toofan, a tsunami… how do you handle it?’
Trade analyst Taran Adarsh didn’t hold back while describing the craze around the film.“In the past, I’ve seen this kind of craze for Sholay and Baahubali 2. Now this film has caught the attention of one and all—not just in India but overseas as well. This is a toofan, a tsunami—how do you handle a tsunami?” he said.He further added, “Dhurandhar part one was just the trailer. ‘Picture toh abhi baaki hai’. All records will be shattered. It’s a goldmine for investors—they will be laughing all the way to the bank.”
Midnight shows, reshuffled schedules signal massive demand
In a rare move, theatres in Mumbai, Pune and Ahmedabad have opened post-midnight and early-morning shows ahead of the film’s March 19 release. Some cinemas have scheduled screenings as early as 2:15 am.Even Mumbai’s iconic Maratha Mandir has tweaked its long-standing schedule, shifting its daily screening of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge to accommodate multiple shows of the sequel.
‘No film is being awaited more eagerly’
Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma echoed the sentiment, saying, “In Indian cinematic history, no film is being awaited more eagerly than Dhurandhar 2. I wouldn’t be surprised if it earns over Rs 120 crore in a single day.”Film historian S M M Ausaja drew comparisons with iconic releases, adding, “The biggest talking point was Shahenshah—when it finally released, it saw historic occupancy. There was similar buzz around DDLJ and Hum Aapke Hain Koun.”
All eyes on record-breaking opening
The film, which releases across Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam, is now eyeing multiple benchmarks—from beating preview records to challenging Jawan’s opening day numbers.If trade predictions hold, Dhurandhar: The Revenge could well enter the league of pan-India giants like Baahubali 2: The Conclusion and Pushpa 2: The Rule—and possibly rewrite the box office rulebook altogether.
