For an industry obsessed with numbers, Dhurandhar: The Revenge recorded big ones even before it hit screens. The Aditya Dhar directorial—a sequel to the box office juggernaut, Dhurandhar, which released last December—crossed 1.5 million in advance bookings prior to its release on March 19. This is in addition to the approximately half a million tickets sold for paid previews. The movie is expected to do roaring business if the prediction of experts and pre-release hysteria are any indications.
“Dhurandhar: The Revenge witnessed a strong pre-booking trend, with advance bookings crossing a million tickets across markets. The film sold over 5,00,000 tickets for paid previews, with several screenings nearing full capacity. This highlights strong audience excitement,” says Sanjeev Kumar Bijli, executive director, PVR Inox Limited.
The first installment of the Ranveer Singh-starrer became the highest-earning Hindi film of 2025 with worldwide box office collections of nearly Rs1,350 crore (Rs1,056 crore in India alone). As word spread about its cinematic brilliance, Dhurandhar continued to shatter records, becoming the second-highest grossing Hindi film of all time, after Dangal, and the fourth-highest Indian movie in terms of revenue. The excitement for the sequel, therefore, is understandable. And the business is likely to get a boost with the film releasing around festivals like Gudi Padwa, Eid and Ugadi.
Across major film circuits, distributors and exhibitors say the scale of demand for Dhurandhar: The Revenge has left little room for any planned decisions. “There’s virtually no planning required at this point… we have had to take down all other films because the demand is exceptionally high. There’s no scope to run any other movie anywhere in theatres right now,” says Vandan Shah, distributor, Rupam Entertainment, Gujarat.
The booking momentum has been widely spread across markets, according to Ashish Saksena, COO-cinemas of BookMyShow. “Following the strong audience response to Dhurandhar, it is encouraging to see the sequel crossing over 1.5 million tickets booked on BookMyShow. While Mumbai and Hyderabad are leading the trend, cities such as Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru and Pune have played a significant role, with encouraging traction visible across a diverse range of markets nationwide,” he says in a statement.
To cater to the unprecedented numbers for an industry otherwise grappling with tepid responses to new releases, theatres across the country have added multiple shows, including midnight and early-morning ones—something usually associated with demi-gods like Rajinikanth. Maratha Mandir, on the other hand, has shifted the screening of the 1995 film, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, from 11.30 am to 11 am to accommodate shows of the four-hour-long Dhurandhar: The Revenge. The Shah Rukh Khan-Kajol movie has been running at the South Mumbai single-screen theatre for the last 30 years.
“We have ensured that the screens are up-to-date so that people have an enjoyable experience,” says Manoj Desai, the owner of Maratha Mandir, and the Gaiety and Galaxy theatres in Mumbai.
Given the extended run time, show scheduling has been optimised to ensure a seamless viewing experience, while maintaining strong occupancy levels, according to PVR. “While the number of shows per screen may be relatively calibrated, the high demand has been effectively managed through strategic show planning and additional preview shows,” says Bijli of PVR Inox, whose shares rose by over 2.5 percent on March 18, a day before the film’s release.
Karan Taurani, executive vice president at Elara Capital, expects Dhurandhar: The Revenge to open at Rs100 crore to Rs110 crore on the first day as opposed to the Rs30 crore to Rs35 crore first-day earnings of the first part. He expects the film to have a lifetime collection of Rs1,200 crore to Rs1,300 crore in India.
“Dhurandhar: The Revenge is set for a massive pan-India release across more than 8,000 screens in the country,” he says in a statement. “The franchise may emerge as the highest-grossing film franchises in India, surpassing the likes of Southern blockbusters such as Baahubali and Pushpa.”
The craze is despite a subdued or a silent marketing strategy. There were no interviews by either Dhar or Singh, and the promotion was restricted to just releasing a trailer.
Pre-sales are driving most of the early momentum and exhibitors are seeing positive early word of mouth. “Pre-sales have been extremely strong, with almost all shows across the Gujarat region sold out. Shows are running nearly round the clock—from 6 am to 1 am. The hype is real. The response from paid previews and special screenings has been positive, and we expect strong footfalls and occupancy to continue even after the opening weekend,” adds Shah.
It helps that the film releases just three-and-a-half months after the first installment. Experts predict the global opening-day collection to touch anywhere between Rs150 crore and Rs200 crore. The frenzy augurs well for the industry which has been finding it difficult to win over theatrical audiences, especially since the Covid-19 pandemic and the proliferation of streaming platforms.
“The exceptional response to Dhurandhar: The Revenge underlines the strong appeal of the theatrical experience, especially for large-scale entertainers. We are encouraged by the reaction beyond Hindi markets too. Southern regions are showing good interest,” says Bijli. “This momentum is highly encouraging for the cinema business, driving increased footfalls, stronger occupancies and overall box office growth.”
Agrees Saksena of BookMyShow. “Moments like these reaffirm the enduring relevance of the theatrical experience and its unique ability to bring audiences together for shared cultural milestones that capture the nation’s imagination,” he says.
Amid the hype that Dhurandhar: The Revenge is generating, Desai offers a cautious note. He laments theatres overcharging customers for the film, pointing out that one in Malad, Mumbai, has priced tickets at Rs2,000 each. “It is not right… how can a family of four even think of watching the film? It is not affordable for those from middle-class or lower-middle-class families,” he says, adding that Maratha Mandir as well as Gaiety and Galaxy have kept the rates below Rs200, as usual.
He also brings up safety issues when midnight or late-night shows are added, saying that there is no public transport available at such odd hours. Even at Maratha Mandir, where the last screening is at 10 pm, Desai says it will be a challenge when people walk out of the theatres around 2.30 am. “People have also lost the habit of sitting for such a long time in the theatres. We will have to see where this overconfidence takes us… let’s wait and watch.”
First Published: Mar 19, 2026, 10:45
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