Mumbai, March 18 With packed houses for the paid previews, the success of the first part is still being celebrated, and its release coinciding with Eid and Gudi Padwa holidays, "Dhurandhar: The Revenge" is expected to have a huge opening, with industry insiders and trade analysts predicting that Aditya Dhar's film will set new box office records.
The film, starring Ranveer Singh, will be released in cinemas on Thursday, just after "Dhurandhar." More than 15 lakh tickets have already been sold, including the paid previews, which begin at 5:30 pm on Wednesday.
"At PVR INOX, we haven't seen this level of advance booking, even before COVID-19," said Kamal Gianchandani, chief business planning & strategy, PVR INOX Limited. "The excitement is immense, and it's unprecedented. It looks like the film is going to have a massive opening. We expect a strong finish to March and a strong start to April."
"I hope it breaks the record of ‘Dhurandhar’ and that it becomes the first Hindi film to cross Rs 1,000 crore in net box office revenue, besides the contributions from dubbed versions in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam. I hope that contributes to Rs 1,000 crore."
On opening day, the film will be competing with Shah Rukh Khan's "Jawan," which earned Rs 66 crore net in India, according to Sacnilk.
The sequel will be chasing the success of the first "Dhurandhar," which currently holds the top position in the all-time highest-grossing Hindi films list, ahead of "Pushpa 2: The Rule" (Hindi), "Stree 2" and "Chhaava".
"Dhurandhar," which was released only in Hindi, earned Rs 1,300 crore worldwide in December 2025.
If "Dhurandhar: The Revenge" crosses the Rs 1,000 crore net Hindi mark, it will be among the pan-India blockbuster sequels, like "Pushpa 2: The Rule" and "Baahubali 2".
The demand for the film is spread across major metropolitan hubs — Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai — and extends to key Tier-II markets including Pune, Ahmedabad, Lucknow and Coimbatore.
Trade analyst Taran Adarsh compared "Dhurandhar 2" to a tsunami.
"In the past, I've seen this craze for 'Sholay' and 'Baahubali 2'. People were eager to know, 'Why did Kattappa kill Baahubali?' Now, this film has captured everyone's attention – not just in India but also overseas. This is a massive event, a tsunami – how do you handle a tsunami?" he said.
"All sorts of records will be broken, and new milestones will be achieved. No one can predict the numbers – even the producers won't be able to. It's a goldmine for investors – they will be laughing all the way to the bank," he added.
In what is being reported as a first for a Bollywood release, cinemas in Mumbai, Pune and Ahmedabad have opened bookings for post-midnight and early morning shows ahead of the film's March 19 release.
In Mumbai, MovieMax Sion has scheduled screenings at 2:15 am, 3:15 am and 5:30 am on Thursday, while MovieMax Wonder Mall in Thane has shows at 2:15 am, 3 am, 4:20 am and 5:20 am.
The craze has also affected a long-running tradition.
Maratha Mandir, the single-screen theatre that has been continuously screening "Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge" for three decades, has shifted its iconic 11:30 am DDLJ show to 10:00 am from March 18 to accommodate three shows of "Dhurandhar: The Revenge" – at 1:15 pm, 5:30 pm and 9:45 pm.
BookMyShow COO Ashish Saksena said the film will set new box office records internationally.
"The songs were on Spotify's global chart the last time – the same is expected this time. Music was a key contributor to the first part, and there's curiosity around it this time since they haven't released much music ahead of the release," he added.
Produced by Jyoti Deshpande and Lokesh Dhar, "Dhurandhar: The Revenge" features Ranveer Singh as Jaskirat Singh Rangi, a young man who transforms into a covert operative, Hamza Ali Mazari, operating deep inside Pakistan.
The sequel charts Mazari's rise in the Karachi underworld while tracing the origins of the man behind the cover.
Actors R Madhavan, Arjun Rampal, Sanjay Dutt, Sara Arjun and Rakesh Bedi return alongside Singh for the sequel, which releases in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam.
Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma, who was effusive in his praise for the first part, is equally excited for part two.
"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," he added.
Film historian and author S M M Ausaja drew parallels with some of the biggest pre-release frenzy moments in Hindi film history.
"This has happened in the past with quite a few films. The biggest talking point was 'Shahenshah' in 1988 – the release kept getting postponed, and when it finally opened it had historic numbers, 100 per cent occupancy across the country. There was similar buzz around 'Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge' and 'Hum Aapke Hai Koun!'" he said.
Given the frenzy around the second part, Dhar posted a statement on X, urging fans to not spoil the movie for others and to stay till the end credits, hinting that something special is in store for them.
"... You made 'Dhurandhar' what it is. Now I'm trusting you to protect what this becomes," he said.
He wrote in an accompanying post, "Oh, and one more thing. Don't leave your seats until the credits have stopped rolling."
"In a theatre, in the dark, surrounded by friends, family, and even strangers, everyone feeling the same emotions. That's how films should be experienced. Not on someone's phone in a blurry image," Dhar said.
