The upcoming action spectacle Dhurandhar: The Revenge, featuring Ranveer Singh in the lead and directed by Aditya Dhar, is already creating a historic buzz ahead of its worldwide release on March 19, 2026.
Even before its official release day, the film is setting new benchmarks in exhibition and advance booking. Due to overwhelming audience demand, several theatres across India have begun scheduling post-midnight and early-morning screenings, something rarely seen for a Hindi film this early.
The massive response indicates that the sequel is heading toward one of the biggest openings in recent Bollywood history.
Theatres Introduce Post-Midnight Shows
To manage the huge demand for tickets, multiplexes in several major cities have started adding extremely late-night and early-morning screenings.
According to trade reports, theatres in cities like Mumbai, Pune, and Ahmedabad have already opened bookings for shows starting around 2:00 AM on Thursday.
Multiplex properties including MovieMax Sion and MovieMax Wonder Mall have scheduled multiple screenings between 2:15 AM and 5:30 AM.
Industry insiders reveal that more theatres may soon shift to near 24-hour screening schedules if ticket demand continues at this pace over the next couple of days.
Dhurandhar’s Long Runtime Impacts Theatre Scheduling
The film’s 235-minute runtime (3 hours and 55 minutes) has also led to adjustments in theatre schedules.
One notable change has occurred at Mumbai’s historic Maratha Mandir cinema hall. The iconic theatre, which has screened Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge daily at 11:30 AM for decades, will shift the show timing to 10:00 AM starting March 18.
This rare change has been made to accommodate three daily shows of Dhurandhar: The Revenge at 1:15 PM, 5:30 PM, and 9:45 PM.
Although scheduling adjustments have occurred during major releases like Animal and Pushpa 2: The Rule, altering the long-running DDLJ slot is still considered an unusual move in Indian exhibition history.
Strong Advance Booking Numbers
The film is also dominating advance booking charts across India.
For the paid preview screenings scheduled on March 18, the film has already collected ₹38.50 crore gross in advance bookings.
Meanwhile, Day 1 advance booking for March 19 has crossed ₹24.50 crore, with more than 6.25 lakh tickets sold across over 13,000 shows nationwide.
The rapid pace of ticket sales suggests that the opening day numbers could grow significantly before release.
Combined Pre-Sales Cross ₹123 Crore Worldwide
International markets are also contributing strongly to the film’s advance booking performance.
Trade estimates suggest that overseas advance sales for the opening weekend are already close to ₹60 crore.
When the Indian preview bookings and opening day advance sales are combined, the film’s total global pre-sales have crossed ₹123 crore, including block bookings.
With two days still remaining before release, industry analysts expect the pre-sales numbers to climb even further as additional midnight and early-morning screenings are added across the country.
Star Cast Adds To The Hype
Apart from Ranveer Singh, the film features a strong ensemble cast including R. Madhavan, Akshaye Khanna, and Arjun Rampal.
Given the record-breaking pre-sales, unusual screening schedules, and growing anticipation among audiences, Dhurandhar: The Revenge is now poised to deliver a historic opening at the global box office once it arrives in theatres this week.
