Drishyam 3 has done what no other Ajay Devgn film has done before. The ninth-day numbers from Sacnilk, cited by Hindustan Times, put the film at ₹26.50 crore for its second Saturday and ₹286.50 crore in total India net collections. That takes it past Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior’s lifetime haul of ₹279.59 crore, making Drishyam 3 the actor’s highest-grossing release.
Opening might and midweek legs
The foundation was laid early. Advance sales had already brought in ₹27 crore before release, per the update. Drishyam 3 then took ₹66.75 crore net on opening day, which the source pegs as the third-biggest opening day for a Hindi film and the biggest of Devgn’s career. It earned ₹53.50 crore on Saturday and ₹61 crore on Sunday before falling to ₹21 crore on Monday.
The fall was expected; the recovery matters more. The first week closed at ₹245.50 crore. A second Saturday of ₹26.50 crore is around half of the first Saturday’s ₹53.50 crore, a solid retention for a film that opened at this scale. For exhibition and distribution teams, that is the difference between a frontloaded event and a title with staying power.
Why the Tanhaji benchmark matters
- Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior, released in 2020, held Devgn’s record at ₹279.59 crore India net.
- Drishyam 3 crossed that total in nine days, before its second weekend ended.
- The next flag is ₹300 crore, which the trade update expects by the end of the second weekend.
For marketers, “biggest hit” is a campaign asset. It gives the title a reason to stay in conversation after the opening burst, and it becomes a natural hook for social creative, trade ads and eventually streaming promotion. A franchise sequel clearing a star’s previous record also shifts the credit from pure star power to franchise loyalty — an important signal for studios deciding what to greenlight next.
The planner’s read
Media planners and entertainment marketers should read this as a hold story, not just a benchmark story. The film’s second-Saturday recovery after a soft Monday tells us demand is being renewed rather than exhausted. That means in-cinema campaigns, spot buys and social creative can still find an active audience in week two.
For streaming platforms tracking this title, a longer theatrical window with sustained demand changes the conversation around post-theatrical release timing. A film that is still drawing audiences in week two becomes a more valuable licensing or marketing asset when it eventually lands on OTT. There is no streaming date in this update, but the box-office curve is building the case for a high-value digital window.
What to watch through the weekend
Sunday’s number will reveal whether the ₹26.50 crore Saturday was a one-day uplift or a sustainable level. With Dussehra still a week away, Drishyam 3 has a clear runway, as the source notes, and the next benchmark is now in reach.
The box-office question is no longer whether the film is a hit. It is how far past ₹300 crore this franchise can travel and what that means for the next instalment of the Drishyam universe.
Source: Hindustan Times
