Nobody expected Dhurandhar to become the biggest box office success of 2025. The Aditya Dhar film was released at the end of the year, with definite buzz, but cautious expectations from the trade. What followed was a tsunami of collections, unlike anything that Bollywood had seen in decades. That not only made Dhurandhar one of the highest-grossing Hindi films of all time, but also set up its sequel – Dhurandhar: The Revenge – as one of the most anticipated Indian films of recent years.
How Dhurandhar 2 trumps Part 1 in build-up
Dhurandhar, which stars Ranveer Singh as a spy, came as a surprise blockbuster. Most expected the film to do well, but were cagey about the degree of that ‘very well’. The film’s pre-release business reflects that. According to trade insiders, Dhurandhar did a pre-release business of ₹150 crore. Pinkvilla reported that its music rights, for instance, were sold for ₹20 crore. The fact that all the songs from the film eventually became chartbusters shows just how sweet a deal that was for Saregama. In contrast, Variety India reported that T-Series has bought the music rights of Dhurandhar 2 for a staggering ₹60 crore. Similarly, while Netflix paid ₹85 crore for Dhurandhar, JioHotstar paid ₹150 crore for the sequel, as per a Bollywood Hungama report.
Given the hype the film carries, the satellite rights are expected to have gone for a higher amount as well. Part 1 was sold to Star for ₹25-30 crore.
Is Durandhar 2 already profitable?
According to trade sources, the non-theatrical pre-release business of Dhurandhar 2 will easily cross ₹250 crore. Dhurandhar’s success has elevated the film’s stature. This was earlier seen in the case of the two Pushpa films. Part 1 sold all its non-theatrical rights for around ₹100 crore in 2021. But three years later, Part 2 did a non-theatrical business of over ₹400 crore.
Dhurandhar was earlier a single film made on a ₹400 crore budget. Since it was split into two parts, the production budget for Dhurandhar 2 is estimated at a little over ₹200 crore, including a few reshoots. The film is likely to have a landing cost of around ₹250 crore, after factoring in marketing and overhead costs. This means that the non-theatrical business alone will help the film break even. Add the distribution rights cost, and Dhurandhar 2 will turn a profit before selling a single ticket. Part 1 registered a profit of around ₹400 crore, and Part 2 hopes to emulate it, if not surpass.
All about Dhurandhar 2
Directed by Aditya Dhar, Dhurandhar starred Ranveer Singh as an Indian spy in Pakistan. The film also stars Akshaye Khanna, R Madhavan, Arjun Rampal, and Sanjay Dutt. The sequel – Dhurandhar: The Revenge – releases in theatres on March 19, with all the actors reprising their roles. Dhurandhar 2 will clash at the box office with Yash’s pan-India film, Toxic.
