Dhurandhar: The Revenge Box Office: Ranveer Singh Film Crosses ₹15 Cr in Preview Advance Sales
Advance bookings for Dhurandhar: The Revenge continue to grow steadily as the film’s paid preview shows remain the only tickets currently available in India.
The action drama added roughly ₹1.75 crore to its advance sales on the latest day of bookings. This takes the total preview advance to about ₹14.75 crore net, which crosses ₹15 crore once the collections from dubbed versions are included.
Breaking down the numbers, India’s two biggest theatre chains—PVR INOX and Cinepolis—account for around ₹10.50 crore, with approximately 2.22 lakh tickets sold so far.
Delay in Opening Weekend Bookings
Ticket sales for the rest of the opening weekend were expected to start yesterday but have been delayed due to a disagreement between the film’s distributor and exhibitors.
The discussions involve two key issues:
Show exclusivity for Dhurandhar: The Revenge
Revenue-sharing terms related to the original Dhurandhar film
The exclusivity matter appears easier to resolve. The distributor is reportedly asking for four weeks of showcase exclusivity in theatres. Three of those weeks are already clear, but the fourth week may face competition from Bhooth Bangla, which is where negotiations are currently focused.
Such back-and-forth discussions are fairly common in the film industry.
Revenue Share Dispute Adds Complexity
The more unusual issue relates to revenue sharing from the first Dhurandhar film.
The original movie was a late bloomer at the box office, gaining major momentum during its second week. While its net box office numbers looked impressive, distributors actually earn based on the share of revenue from theatres, not just the total collections.
In India, the distributor’s share drops significantly after the second week. As a result, even though the film continued doing strong business, the distributors reportedly missed out on a large portion of potential earnings.
Industry estimates suggest that around ₹50 crore in distributor share may have been lost because of these terms.
Now, the distributor is reportedly seeking a 5% higher revenue share for the new film—a demand that would be quite unprecedented in the industry.
Many insiders believe the current revenue-sharing structure in Indian cinema is outdated and overly harsh on producers and distributors, particularly for regional films. Some feel this issue could have been addressed during the COVID-era shutdown, when the industry had time to rethink its business models.
Pre-Sales Continue as Talks Go On
For now, preview bookings remain the only tickets on sale while the discussions continue.
At the current pace, Dhurandhar: The Revenge could reach ₹20 crore in preview advances by Monday. Once bookings for the rest of the weekend open, the pace may slow slightly, but the film should still cross ₹20 crore before release.
In fact, a ₹25 crore preview advance is very much possible.
That would already be a strong start—but the real momentum is expected once opening day and full weekend bookings begin.
Overseas Advance Bookings Are Already Huge
Interestingly, the film’s advance sales overseas are reportedly exploding, far beyond what has been seen domestically so far.
There are a couple of reasons for the difference:
Hindi films usually don’t open bookings this early in India.
The currently available shows are mostly evening and late-night screenings priced at premium rates.
These expensive preview shows tend to sell well in metro cities and major centres, but smaller cities typically join the booking wave closer to the release date when ticket prices are more standard.
Once regular-priced shows for opening day and the weekend go live, advance bookings in smaller A and B centres across the Hindi belt are expected to pick up quickly.
Until then, as trade analysts would say—“nazar aur sabar”: keep watching and be patient.