With the release of Dhurandhar: The Revenge just days away, the buzz is on Ranveer Singh starrer has achieved unprecedented levels. Riding on the success of its first installment, the sequel is already making waves with massive advance bookings and paid previews with packed houses.
“We are looking at 45-50 million euros just from the preview”
Trade pundits are betting big on the film’s box office, with Kamal Gianchandani expressing high confidence in its opening numbers.“I hope it breaks Dhurandhar’s record and becomes the first Hindi film to cross Rs 1,000 crore nett. Dubbed versions will be an added advantage,” he told PTI.Highlighting the size of the opening, he added: “On Wednesday we are seeing 45 to 50 million euros net from paid projections, and that too starting from midday on a weekday.”The film has already sold more than 4 thousand tickets for the previews which will start from Wednesday evening.
‘There is no precedent… the enthusiasm is enormous’
The excitement is clearly visible in the advance bookings, which have crossed one million entries across all languages on PVR INOX’s platform alone.“At PVR INOX, we haven’t seen bookings like this even before COVID-19. The excitement is huge, it’s unprecedented. It looks like the film is going to take a grand opening,” added Gianchandani.The order covers metros like Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai, and also extends to Tier-II cities like 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 frenzy surrounding the film.“In the past, I saw this kind of craze for Sholay and Baahubali 2. Now this movie has grabbed everyone’s attention, not only in India but also abroad. This is a toofan, a tsunami, how do you handle a tsunami? he saidHe further added, “Dhurandhar first part was just the trailer. ‘Picture toh abhi baaki hai’. All records will be broken. It is a goldmine for investors; they will laugh all the way to the bank.”
Midnight shows, revamped schedules indicate high demand
In a rare move, theaters in Mumbai, Pune and Ahmedabad have opened midnight and early morning shows ahead of the film’s March 19 release. Some cinemas have scheduled screenings before 02:15 in the morning.Mumbai’s iconic Maratha Mandir has also tweaked its long-standing schedule, shifting its daily screening of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge to accommodate multiple screenings of the sequel.
“No more waiting for the movie”
Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma echoed the sentiment, saying, “In the history of Indian cinema, no film is more eagerly awaited than Dhurandhar 2. I wouldn’t be surprised if it earns over 120 crores in a single day.”Film historian SMM Ausaja compared it to the iconic releases, adding, “The biggest controversy was Shahenshah – when it finally released, it saw a historic occupation. There was a similar buzz around DDLJ and Hum Aapke Hain Koun.”
All eyes on the record-breaking opening
The film, which is releasing across Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam, now has multiple benchmarks – from breaking preview records to challenging Jawan’s opening numbers.If the commercial predictions come true, Dhurandhar: The Revenge could join the league of Indian giants Baahubali 2: The Conclusion and Pushpa 2: The Rule, and might completely rewrite the box office rulebook.
