The audience had already decided before a single review existed.
Within hours of the trailer dropping on Saturday, the numbers were already telling a story of their own. Advance bookings for Dhurandhar: The Revenge — the sequel to last year's blockbuster — opened immediately after the footage went public, and the response was swift enough to turn heads across the film trade.
The film, officially titled Dhurandhar: The Revenge, is scheduled for a worldwide theatrical release on March 19, 2026, timed to the festive convergence of Eid, Gudi Padwa, and Ugadi. But before that official opening, a paid preview is set for Wednesday, March 18 — and it is that single preview day that has analysts reaching for superlatives.
Film trade analyst Joginder Tuteja went on record predicting that the paid previews alone would generate more than ₹25 crore in India. That figure, striking on its own, was accompanied by an even bolder claim: that Dhurandhar: The Revenge was on pace to become the fastest film ever to cross the 10,000-tickets-per-hour threshold on advance booking platforms. Tuteja gave it two hours to hit that mark, and suggested the hourly rate could climb further still — to 30,000 tickets per hour — with that pace potentially holding for several consecutive days.
The early data gave those predictions some grounding. Analyst Taran Adarsh reported that BookMyShow was already registering 7,500 tickets sold per hour for the March 18 preview shows, describing the advance booking pace as a "rampage." He called the trailer itself outstanding, writing that it had lived up to what he characterized as sky-high expectations and had only amplified audience eagerness to see the film.
At the center of all this anticipation is Ranveer Singh, returning as undercover agent Jaskirat Singh Rangi — a character who, by the end of the first film, had burrowed so deep into the criminal underworld that he now operates under the alias Hamza Ali Mazari. The three-minute, twenty-five-second trailer sketches the terrain of the sequel: with gangster Rehman Dakait gone — played in the original by Akshaye Khanna — Hamza has consolidated power over Lyari in Karachi, earning the title of Lyari ka Badshah. The new antagonist standing in his way is Major Iqbal, played by Arjun Rampal.
Singh himself leaned into the personal stakes when he shared the trailer, writing simply that he had told audiences it was personal, and directing them to book for the March 18 previews. The film is directed, written, and co-produced by Aditya Dhar, who helmed the original.
The release window is notably clear of major competition, which analysts say positions the film for an unobstructed run at the box office. Whether the ticket-sale momentum of the first few hours translates into the kind of sustained pre-sales business Tuteja is projecting will become clearer in the days ahead — but the opening salvo has been loud.
Notable Quotes
Dhurandhar: The Revenge will be the quickest ever to hit 10,000 tickets per hour — I see that happening in the next two hours. My early prediction for Wednesday paid previews: ₹25 crore plus.— Joginder Tuteja, film trade analyst, on X
Advance bookings for the paid previews have just commenced and the film is already trending on BookMyShow, selling a staggering 7,500 tickets per hour.— Taran Adarsh, film analyst
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
What does it actually mean when a film sells 7,500 tickets an hour before it's even released?
It means the audience has already decided. They're not waiting for reviews, not waiting for word of mouth. The decision was made the moment the trailer landed.
Is that unusual for Indian cinema?
It's unusual for any cinema. The benchmark being floated — 10,000 tickets per hour — is being described as a record pace. The fact that analysts are predicting it will be broken within hours of booking opening says something about the scale of anticipation here.
What's driving it — the character, the actor, the franchise?
Probably all three working together. Ranveer Singh playing an undercover agent who's gone so deep he's become the criminal he was hunting — that's a compelling hook. And the first film clearly left audiences wanting more.
The ₹25 crore prediction is just for one preview day. How does that compare to a full opening weekend?
It's a significant fraction. If a single Wednesday preview generates that, the official opening across the festive weekend could be multiples of that figure. The preview is essentially a pressure test for the full release.
The release window — Eid, Gudi Padwa, Ugadi — is that a calculated move?
Absolutely. Those festivals bring people to theaters across different regions and communities. And with no major competition in the window, the film gets to own that footfall entirely.
What's the risk if the momentum doesn't hold?
The gap between preview hype and sustained audience turnout is where films sometimes stumble. But the fact that bookings are this aggressive before a single review exists suggests the core audience is already committed.