Overseas sales of Dhurandhar: The Revenge began earlier this week and the start has been expectedly stellar.
The strongest response is coming from the United States, where the Ranveer Singh starrer has earned nearly US$600K in pre-sales over the weekend. Of this, over US$250K is for Wednesday previews, another US$100K is for Thursday (opening day). The spread of the sale is very good, with US$100,000 already being sold in advance on Friday and Saturday. In comparison, the previous best for a Bollywood film was Jaawaan, which had sales of around US$300K at the same time before its release. This makes Dhurandhar: The Revenge almost double the previous record. What is even more encouraging is the pace at which new bookings are coming in, which suggests that margins may expand further compared to the previous best in the coming days.
Based on these sales, the film is set to surpass US$1 million in previews in the United States, which in all likelihood it will already do. There is also a possibility of withdrawal of US$1.50 million, with the possibility of reaching US$2 million. This is followed by an extended four-day weekend, by the end of which the film could reach close to or perhaps even exceed US$10 million. Notably, only three Bollywood films have crossed the US$10 million mark in the United States, with Pathan holding the record for the biggest opening at US$6.65 million in five days.
Similarly, in Australia, at the end of the day yesterday, the film’s weekend sales stood at AUD 100K, which is about 40-50 percent more than Pathan and Jawan at the same time. Today the margins have increased further as film sales are increasing rapidly. A record opening looks set here too, possibly targeting a new benchmark of AUD 3 million weekend. Along with the United States and Australia, Pehla Dhurandhar was also a record-grossing film in Canada, where it has not yet had an advanced opening. Expect similar record-breaking numbers wherever they do.
The first film performed relatively poorly in the United Kingdom and missed the all-time record. This was partly due to the film’s subject matter and partly because, Pathan was too big. Nevertheless, it performed brilliantly at over GBP 3 million, and the sequel is also seeing strong sales, although slightly behind Jawan and Pathan. That said, there is a strong performance in the market on Eid, which could help the film bridge the gap and ultimately deliver record numbers during its run.
One market missing from the action is the Middle East, where the original film also missed release, and the sequel is also expected to be released. Eid is a huge holiday in the region and the film could have earned huge numbers there too. The absence of the Middle East will prevent Dhurandhar: The Revenge from challenging the overall overseas opening record currently held by Pathan, but the rest could be big enough that it might actually come close.
Also read: Pinkvilla Prediction: Dhurandhar The Revenge is set to break records with single releases as predictions rise