Ranveer Singh’s ‘Dhurandhar’ Sets New Box Office Record in North America, Surpasses ‘Baahubali 2’

Ranveer Singh and director Aditya Dhar’s Dhurandhar have made a landmark at the North American box office by taking the highest second Friday collections ever for an Indian film in that region. Over the years, the film has beaten the record held by Prabhas-starrer Baahubali 2. The Conclusion for a remarkable milestone for contemporary Indian cinema overseas.

As per early evening trends, Dhurandhar went past the USD 830,000 mark on its second Friday, thus surpassing the USD 828,000 benchmark that was previously set by Baahubali 2. This record is especially significant as it occurs almost eight years after SS Rajamouli’s epic was deemed to have set an unbreakable standard in North America.

Baahubali 2 was not just a blockbuster but a cultural phenomenon that brought Indian cinema to the global limelight. The second Friday of 2017 saw an increase in its collections which indicated extraordinary word-of-mouth and repeat viewership, at a time when the overseas market was not so crowded. The film is still the highest Indian movie in terms of gross revenue in North America, with a total revenue of around USD 22 million.

On the contrary, Dhurandhar has been excellent at the box office, mainly because it is taking its own way. The film got a good start with $522,000 on its first Friday and quickly added up to $852,000 over the weekend, thus the total for Saturday and Sunday was $852,000. Even though the daily revenue was a bit lower on Monday at $489,000, the film was already in the running again on Tuesday with $597,000.

The steady performance has been observed until the end of the week with revenue collection of $581,000 and $528,000 for Wednesday and Thursday respectively. By the end of its first week, Dhurandhar had racked up around $4.4 million in North America. With the second Friday earnings pushing past USD 830,000, the film’s total collection has now crossed the USD 5 million mark.

The North American circuit has traditionally responded strongly to Ranveer Singh’s films. His previous release, Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, earned over USD 10 million, while Padmaavat crossed USD 12 million in the region, reinforcing his box office appeal overseas.

In addition to Ranveer Singh, Dhurandhar boasts a stellar cast comprising Akshaye Khanna, Arjun Rampal, R. Madhavan, Sanjay Dutt, Sara Arjun, Rakesh Bedi, and Gaurav Gera. The picture is very much alive at the box office thanks to the word-of-mouth, and it is strengthening its position as one of the largest Indian films doing so well overseas in the recent years.