Ranveer Singh’s high-octane spy thriller Dhurandhar is delivering one of the most remarkable box-office performances of recent years, rewriting theatrical economics and offering the industry a much-needed commercial uplift. Released on December 5, Aditya Dhar’s action spectacle has demonstrated rare weekday momentum, punching far above initial forecasts and emerging as a bona fide blockbuster within a week.

The film’s domestic net collection for week one is headed for around ₹207–208 crore, says data from Sacnilk — a performance that places Dhurandhar among the year’s top earners and sets up a formidable second-week trajectory. Sacnilk tracks films’ box-office performance.

Trade circles were conservative ahead of release, with advances tracking lower than expected. But once the film opened to ₹28 crore on Day 1, the sentiment flipped — powered almost entirely by word of mouth. “Ranveer has completely rocked the box office. It started slow… but the mass audience has completely loved the film. The metro cities are also on board,” says film business expert Girish Johar, who now sees the film nearing ₹200 crore in the domestic market already and easily crossing the ₹300-crore mark in the second week.

The surge was not restricted to weekends. Dhurandhar grew from Friday through Sunday, netting ₹103 crore, but its real surprise came midweek — Monday to Thursday held extraordinarily well, with three consecutive ₹27-crore days. The biggest indicator of audience appeal is Day 7 collections trending above Day 1, a phenomenon rarely seen outside a handful of historic hits. Added to Friday's collections, the movie is set to breach the ₹200-crore mark in the first week itself, forecasts Sacnilk.

Multiplex operators have been quick to capitalise on the momentum. PVR INOX reported sustained occupancy through the week. “The first week stayed strong with occupancy well above 50% and many shows filling early,” says Gautam Dutta, CEO–Revenue & Operations, PVR INOX Ltd. “We added early morning and late-night shows to meet the rush. The mood in cinemas has been warm and spirited,” he adds. Thursday’s all-India occupancy stood at 39.5%, with metros such as Bengaluru, Pune, and Mumbai crossing the 50% mark in several time bands — an unusually high reading this late in the week.

Across regions, Dhurandhar has displayed strength in major circuits, including Mumbai, NCR, Bengaluru, and Pune, which recorded some of the strongest turnouts in the country. The overseas market has mirrored this momentum. Collections from the US, the UK, the UAE, Canada, and Australia have pushed the worldwide tally to over ₹300 crore by Day 7, with several territories reporting midweek spikes — an uncommon trend outside holiday periods, adds Sacnilk.

Industry experts have been unanimous in their assessment of the film’s scale. “With the first week heading for ₹200 crore India net and ₹300 crore worldwide, it has become a phenomenon unlikely to stop anytime soon,” notes a spokesperson for Sacnilk, which estimates 7.5 million footfalls in six days — an enormous indicator of theatrical pull.

Foremost, analyst Komal Nahta adds that the film’s opening-week net of ₹170 crore (trade estimates) positions it as one of the year’s highest earners, predicting that its India collections will easily cross the ₹350–400 crore mark. IMDb users have rated the film 8.5/10, further cementing audience approval.

A blend of high-repeat value, adrenaline-heavy action sequences, and a gripping narrative has contributed significantly to the film’s performance. Viewers have also responded strongly to the ensemble cast, with Ranveer Singh, Akshaye Khanna, Sanjay Dutt, R. Madhavan, Arjun Rampal, and Sara Arjun all earning praise for their roles.

The film has now surpassed the lifetime collection of Aamir Khan’s Sitaare Zameen Par (₹199 crore net in India and around ₹266 crore worldwide) and is fast closing in on War 2 (which posted an estimated ₹365 crore worldwide and roughly ₹237 crore net in India), as per Sacnilk data. With word of mouth strengthening by the day and weekday numbers holding at exceptional levels, Dhurandhar continues to surge in a way the industry has not witnessed in years.

The film concludes with a teaser for its sequel, Dhurandhar 2, set for release on March 19, 2026. The overwhelming response to the first instalment sets the sequel up as one of the most anticipated big-screen events of the coming year, underscoring the franchise potential that studios increasingly rely on to drive theatrical resurgence.