Dhurandhar: The Revenge has surpassed a million dollars in pre-sales at the United States box office. Only three Bollywood films had pre-sales of seven figures, namely, Pathaan, Jawan and Animal. In comparison, the other three had barely crossed it, reaching there just before the release. The Ranveer Singh starrer has managed to do that TWELVE days prior to release.
Several of the South Indian films have surpassed this benchmark, with some of them crossing USD 2 million. Dhurandhar will soon be joining them, the way it is going, possibly even USD 3 million. The all-time record for the highest pre-sales for an Indian film in the United States likely belongs to Baahubali: The Conclusion. While Dhurandhar will not be crossing it in terms of money but could potentially surpass it in terms of tickets sold.
The South Indian films have this culture of premieres/previews at premium prices, 2-3 times the standard rates, almost the entirety of which comes in presales. Beyond that, the sales aren’t that high, with the exception of probably Baahubali 2. Dhurandhar: The Revenge is also having a premiere, but that is at standard rates, and the spread of sales over the weekend is phenomenal. The previews only make about 40 per cent of the total sales, with Friday and Saturday being close to 20 per cent.
Dhurandhar: The Revenge is getting strong patronage from South Indian diaspora as well, with several Telugu and Tamil diaspora heavy centres from Texas among the top locations alongside the usual Hindi centres from New York, New Jersey, California and Chicago. That may lead to some frontloading in business compared to usual Bollywood fare, but doesn’t really matter when the business is at the level it is.
Dhurandhar: The Revenge is virtually certain to cross the million-dollar premiere in pre-sales alone. If the current trajectory continues, the film should surpass USD 1.50 million and could even push towards USD 2 million in the final count. Beyond that, the weekend sales are shaping up nicely as well. If everything goes right, Dhurandhar: The Revenge could be looking at over USD 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 nearly USD 13 million.
