Eight days is all it took. Ajay Devgn’s Drishyam 3 has crossed ₹407 crore worldwide, turning the third chapter of the thriller franchise into the biggest hit of his career. The film is not just making money; it is overtaking milestones that some recent big-ticket releases have taken much longer to reach.
How the box office stacks up
The latest figures show Drishyam 3 earned ₹176.50 crore net in its opening weekend, a start strong enough to rank seventh among Hindi films. Weekdays held well, and after a ₹14.50 crore second Friday, its domestic total stands at ₹260 crore net, or ₹312 crore gross.
- Opening weekend: ₹176.50 crore net
- First week domestic: ₹245 crore net
- Day 8 domestic: ₹260 crore net (₹312 crore gross)
- Overseas: just over $10 million
- Worldwide: ₹407 crore gross
That opening-weekend number puts the film in unusual company. It sits just below Sultan and ahead of War and Tiger 3 on the list of Hindi openers, which tells you how strongly the title connected with its core audience from the first shows.
The franchise pull is visible in the weekdays. Instead of the sharp drops that often follow a big holiday, Drishyam 3 lost only modest ground and even saw a small bump on its second Friday. That pattern usually points to word of mouth, not just a star-driven opening rush.
What makes the run stand out is the split. The domestic audience is driving the record, while the overseas numbers, though steady, are more modest. Trade sources put the international total just past the $10 million mark in the first eight days.
A new high for Ajay Devgn
Until now, Ajay Devgn’s top performers were Singham Again at ₹389 crore and Tanhaji at ₹367 crore. Drishyam 3 has crossed both in eight days. It has also moved past the lifetime totals of 3 Idiots, Krrish 3 and Simmba, each of which sat around the ₹400 crore mark.
The record also changes how the trade reads his slate. Ajay Devgn is no longer just the star of action hits like Singham Again; the Drishyam franchise now gives him the strongest single-title number of his career, and the figure is still moving.
The timing matters. Drishyam 3 arrived on October 2, a date that has become closely tied to the franchise, and it has carried its opening momentum into the second week. With the second weekend still to come, the next target is clearly ₹500 crore worldwide.
Why this matters for Bollywood
A franchise thriller outperforming big-budget action spectacles is a signal. The Drishyam films have built their value on story, Ajay Devgn’s Vijay Salgaonkar and a cast that includes Tabu, Shriya Saran, Jaideep Ahlawat and Prakash Raj. Director Abhishek Pathak has delivered a sequel that audiences are treating as an event, not just another release.
For celebrity-watchers, the takeaway is simple: this is the film to see in cinemas right now, and the second weekend will show whether it can reach the ₹500 crore mark.
Source: Hindustan Times
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