'Dhurandhar 2': Buoyed by strong booking numbers, trade exhibitors hope film will break many records

Mumbai: With Aditya Dhar's "Dhurandhar: The Revenge", arriving in cinemas just months after the massive success of its first part, doing exceptionally well in its paid previews and advance booking, the exhibition industry and trade pundits are confident that the film will shatter many records set by previous blockbusters at the box office.

The much-anticipated film's paid previews, which open on Wednesday from 5.30 pm onwards, are almost booked with more than 4 lakh tickets sold.

"I hope it breaks the record of ‘Dhurandhar’ one and hope it turns out to be the first film to cross Rs. 1,000 crore nett box office in Hindi, besides, the contribution from dubbed versions of Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam. I hope that’s an addition to Rs. 1,000 crore.

"In terms of box-office, we are looking at Rs 45 to 50 crore nett on Wednesday (pre-release paid previews), which is a weekday, and it’s starting from half-day," Kamal Gianchandani, Chief Business Planning & Strategy, PVR INOX Limited, told PTI.

"Dhurandhar: The Revenge", which film officially releases on Thursday, is well positioned to rewrite the record books across multiple categories.

On paid previews, the benchmark it must beat is Rs 23 crore, set by Pawan Kalyan's "They Call Him OG". On opening day, the movie will take on the current Hindi film record which is held by Shah Rukh Khan's "Jawan" at Rs 66 crore, according to Sacnilk.

Over its full run, the sequel will be chasing the first "Dhurandhar", which currently sits at the top of the all-time highest-grossing Hindi films list, ahead of "Pushpa 2: The Rule" (Hindi), "Stree 2" and "Chhaava".

And if it crosses the Rs 1,000 crore nett Hindi mark that Gianchandani is hoping for, it would be entering territory of pan-India blockbusters, dominated by the likes of "Pushpa 2: The Rule" and "Baahubali 2".

Gianchandani is buoyed by the film's advance booking numbers. The Ranveer Singh-starrer has registered over one million tickets in advance bookings across all languages on its platform.

"At PVR INOX, we have not seen this sort of advance booking even pre-COVID-19... The excitement is phenomenal, there’s no precedence. It looks like the film is going to take a massive opening. We are looking at a strong finish to March, and a strong start to April," he added.

According to the cinema chain, demand 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.

Looking at the numbers the film is already raking up, trade analyst Taran Adarsh said "Dhurandhar" part two is turning out to be a phenomenon.

"In the past, I've seen this craze for 'Sholay' and 'Baahubali 2'. People were keen to know, 'Kattappa ne Baahubali ko kyu mara?' 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.

"The first part of 'Dhurandhar' was just the trailer. 'Picture toh abhi baaki hai' (the best is yet to come). All sorts of records will be shattered and new milestones will be set. No one can predict the numbers — even the producers will not be able to. It is 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, theatres 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, while MovieMax Wonder Mall in Thane has shows at 2:15 am, 3:00 am, 4:20 am and 5:20 am.

The mania has also affected a long running ritual at one of the most iconic theatres in Mumbai.

Maratha Mandir, the single-screen theatre that has run "Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge" continuously for three decades, has shifted its iconic 11:30 am DDLJ show to 10:00 am from March 18 to make room for three shows of "Dhurandhar: The Revenge" -- at 1:15 pm, 5:30 pm and 9:45 pm.

BookMyShow COO Ashish Saksena projected Rs 35 to 40 crore in Hindi alone on opening day.

"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 big contributor to the first part, and there's curiosity around it this time since they haven't released as much music ahead of the release," he added.

Produced by Jyoti Deshpande and Lokesh Dhar, "Dhurandhar: The Revenge" will feature Ranveer Singh as Jaskirat Singh Rangi, a young man who transforms into 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... The film has a long runtime, which might slightly limit the number of shows, but since it is expected to run for a long time in theatres, that shouldn’t make much of a difference," 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 percent occupancy across the country. There was similar buzz around 'Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge' and 'Hum Aapke Hai Koun!" he said.