Aditya Dhar’s Dhurandhar The Revenge opened in theatres on Thursday, after a record-breaking paid preview day on Wednesday. The combined earnings gave the spy thriller Bollywood’s all-time biggest opening, and one of the biggest in Indian cinema history. In fact, almost the entire top 10 is populated by pan-India films or event films from the Tamil film industry. The Ranveer Singh-starrer is the sole Hindi entry there.
A look at where Dhurandhar 2 stands in the list of highest-opening Indian films:
1) Pushpa The Rise – ₹274 crore
Allu Arjun’s blockbuster Pushpa 2: The Rise registered Indian cinema’s biggest opening in 2024, when it earned ₹274.6 crore gross worldwide, including ₹164 crore net in India, and just under $7 million overseas.
2) Dhurandhar The Revenge – ₹240 crore
The Aditya Dhar-directed film opened with earnings of ₹75 crore gross in paid previews, and added ₹165 crore for good measure on release day. This marks the first time a Hindi film has earned ₹200 crore in a day.
3) RRR – ₹223 crore
SS Rajamouli’s return to direction after the Baahubali franchise was one of the most hyped films of recent times. When it was released, after considerable delays, RRR earned ₹133 crore net in India on opening day, and added a considerable amount overseas, reaching ₹223 crore gross worldwide.
4) Baahubali The Conclusion – ₹214 crore
The film that began the pan-India trend, Baahubali 2, was the blockbuster to beat all blockbusters. When it was released in 2017, after two years of hype, it was a smash hit from the word go. The film became the first from India to earn ₹100 crore in a day domestically and ₹200 crore worldwide.
5) Kalki 2898 AD – ₹177 crore
The coming together of Prabhas, Amitabh Bachchan, and Deepika Padukone in Nag Ashwin’s dystopian sci-fi epic was a treat for film fans around the world. Kalki, directed by Nag Ashwin, had the biggest opening of the year in 2024, just falling short of ₹200 crore, but reigniting Prabhas’ career.
6) KGF Chapter 2 – ₹159 crore
Yash’s KGF 2 was the perfect mass hype film. When it released in 2022, years after part 1, the mass circuits in north India went berserk. Riding high on humongous collections from the Hindi-dubbed version, KGF 2 became the first Kannada film to cross ₹100 crore in a day.
7) Salaar – ₹158 crore
After a string of flops, many felt Prabhas had failed to capitalise on the fame that Baahubali had given him. Adipurush almost buried his career. But then came Prashanth Neel’s Salaar. The action thriller managed to hold off against Shah Rukh Khan’s Dunki in an epic clash and emerged the winner with a record-breaking opening.
8) Coolie – ₹151 crore
It was just Rajinikanth flexing his superstardom when Coolie roared at the box office last year. The film collected ₹65 crore net in India, but broke several records overseas, minting close to $9 million, and pushing the film past ₹150 crore on day 1.
9) OG – ₹144 crore
Pawan Kalyan marked his roaring comeback with this action thriller, which set the record for paid previews, before Dhurandhar 2 broke it. The film is the only starring the actor to earn over ₹100 crore in a single day
10) Leo – ₹142 crore
Vijay and Lokesh Kanagaraj’s collaboration gave the actor his biggest success to date. The thriller broke the bank nationally and made big money overseas, too. Sanjay Dutt’s presence gave the film a slight boost in Hindi territory as well.
