The Hindi-language action film Dhurandhar: The Revenge has officially become the highest-earning Bollywood production at the domestic Indian box office, with producers confirming on Wednesday that the film is now vying for broader industry records.
The sequel, which centres on an undercover Indian intelligence operative operating in Pakistan, is only the third Indian movie—and the first Hindi-language film to cross the 10 billion-rupee ($108 million) domestic milestone. It achieved this figure within 18 days of its 19 March release.
Directed by Aditya Dhar and starring Ranveer Singh, the nearly four-hour production was shot simultaneously with its 2025 predecessor. Jio Studios, the producer of the film, reported that worldwide gross earnings have now exceeded 160 billion rupees.
The film has also established a new benchmark internationally, becoming the highest-grossing Indian release in North America and the first to exceed $25 million in regional takings.
The geopolitical narrative of the project has generated significant political discourse. While media critics have decried the production as chest-thumping nationalism, it has received public endorsement from Narendra Modi. The cultural impact also reached diplomatic channels when Emmanuel Macron utilised the title track of the film in a social media broadcast during his state visit to India.
Raj Bansal, a veteran film distributor with four decades of industry experience, described the consumer frenzy as a “massive cinematic phenomenon".
Bansal noted that the heavily muscled, long-haired depiction of Singh battling enemies has been a primary consumer draw, leading to vocal reactions, hooting, and screaming in cinemas. He observed that diverse demographic segments, including middle-aged women, attended premier screenings despite prior knowledge of the brutal action and hardcore violence depicted on screen.
Despite this unprecedented Hindi-language success, the film currently remains third in all-time domestic earnings. It trails two Telugu-language productions: the 2017 epic Baahubali 2: The Conclusion and the 2024 action drama Pushpa 2: The Rule.
Globally, it remains significantly behind the highest-grossing Indian film of all time, the 2016 wrestling drama Dangal. That production retains the international record with global earnings above 200 billion rupees, largely driven by enormous popularity and market access in neighbouring China.
Trade analysts suggest that while Dhurandhar: The Revenge is maintaining high daily attendance into its third week of exhibition, it is mathematically unlikely to overtake the lifetime grosses of Dangal, Baahubali 2, or Pushpa 2.
Nevertheless, its current market dominance has heavily impacted the regional entertainment industry. Competing studios have proactively delayed their film releases to wait for the extended box office queues to subside, a situation Bansal summarised by stating that “nobody is daring to face the film".
