Despite a significant drop on its third Monday, Aditya Dhar’s espionage epic Dhurandhar has rewritten history, surpassing the worldwide collections of Kantara: Chapter 1 and outperforming James Cameron’s Avatar: Fire and Ash at the Indian box office.
The Ranveer Singh-starrer Dhurandhar has officially become the highest-grossing Indian film of 2025 at the global box office. On its 18th day (Monday, December 22), the film earned about ₹16.5 crore, bringing its total domestic net collection to a staggering ₹572.25 crore. With a global gross now topping ₹872 crore, the film has dethroned Rishab Shetty’s Kantara: A Legend Chapter 1 to claim the top spot for the year.
The third Monday saw the typical weekday drop of roughly 57% after a massive third weekend. But Dhurandhar is still a juggernaut, especially compared to its new competition. James Cameron’s Avatar: Fire and Ash, which released on December 19, struggled on its first Monday, earning just ₹8.5 crore, nearly 50% less than what Dhurandhar pulled in during its third week.
Directed by Aditya Dhar, the film has broken several long-standing records:
- Fastest to ₹500 Crore: It became the fastest pure Bollywood film to hit the ₹500 crore net mark in Hindi, doing it in just 16 days, beating Shah Rukh Khan’s Jawan (18 days).
- Second Week Phenomenon: In a rare feat, its second-week collection (₹253 crore) was higher than its first-week collection (₹207 crore).
- Overseas Dominance: It’s grossed approximately ₹186 crore internationally, surpassing the overseas run of Rajinikanth’s Coolie to become the top Indian blockbuster abroad this year.
“The way Aditya Dhar has meticulously assembled his wares… blurring the lines between fact and fiction has clearly resonated with the masses,” film critic Shubhra Gupta noted, referencing the film’s gritty portrayal of Indian intelligence operations in the early 2000s.
Trade analysts from Sacnilk observed, “To out-earn a fresh Avatar sequel in its third week is an unprecedented display of domestic dominance. Dhurandhar is now eyeing the ₹1,000 crore global milestone.”
Dhurandhar follows Hamza (Ranveer Singh), an Indian intelligence officer who goes undercover in Pakistan’s Lyari underworld. The film’s ensemble cast, including Sanjay Dutt, Akshaye Khanna, R. Madhavan, and Arjun Rampal, has been praised for grounded performances. While critics are divided on its political themes, audience response has turned it into a “word-of-mouth beast” that’s benefiting from repeat viewings.
With the Christmas and New Year holiday period coming up, trade experts predict collections will surge even more. If the current momentum holds, Dhurandhar is expected to surpass the lifetime domestic earnings of Gadar 2 and Animal by the end of the week, potentially becoming one of the top three highest-grossing Hindi films of all time.
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