Dhurandhar: The Revenge has crossed the one million dollar mark in pre-sales at the United States box office. Only three Bollywood films had pre-sales of seven figures, namely, Pathan, Jawan and Animal. In comparison, the other three barely made it past the mark, arriving just before release. The Ranveer Singh starrer has managed to do so just twelve days before its release.
Many of the South Indian films have crossed this benchmark, with some of them crossing USD 2 million. Dhurandhar will be joining them soon, the way this is going, possibly even US$3 million. The all-time record for the highest pre-sales of an Indian film in the United States is probably held by Baahubali: The Conclusion. Although the stalwarts may not be able to surpass it in terms of money, they could potentially surpass it in terms of ticket sales.
South Indian films have a culture of premieres/previews at premium prices, 2–3 times higher than standard rates, almost all of which come in presales. Also, except perhaps Baahubali 2, the sales are not that high. Dhurandhar: The Revenge is also premiering, but at standard rates, and the spread of weekend sales is phenomenal. Previews make up only about 40 percent of total sales, with Friday and Saturday accounting for about 20 percent.
Dhurandhar: The Revenge is also receiving strong patronage from the South Indian diaspora, with the usual Hindi centers of New York, New Jersey, California and Chicago as well as several Telugu and Tamil diaspora centers in Texas taking the top spots. This may give some edge to the business compared to normal Bollywood, but it doesn’t really matter when the business is at its level.
Dhurandhar: The Revenge is almost certain to cross the million-dollar premiere in pre-sales alone. If the current trajectory continues, the film will cross USD 1.50 million and may even reach USD 2 million at the last count. Apart from this, weekend sales are also going well. If all goes well, Dhurandhar: The Revenge could gross over US$10 million in the United States by the end of its four-day extended opening weekend. Notably, the original Dhurandhar is the highest-grossing Bollywood film in the country with approximately US$13 million.
Also read: Dhurandhar The Revenge Box Office: Ranveer Singh starrer takes a stellar start in India