Drishyam: The Conclusion gives Ajay Devgn his biggest opening, nears Rs2 billion

Dubai: Ajay Devgn's Drishyam: The Conclusion has made Rs177.10 crore (Rs1.77 billion, about Dh72.6 million) worldwide in its first two days, according to industry tracker Sacnilk.

The third and final film in the Hindi Drishyam franchise opened in cinemas on October 2, the Gandhi Jayanti holiday in India. It has already set new records for Devgn and is heading towards one of the biggest opening weekends of the year.

Ajay Devgn's biggest opening yet

The film collected Rs62 crore net (Rs620 million, about Dh25.4 million) in India on its opening day.

That makes it the biggest opening of Devgn's career, ahead of Singham Again, which opened at around Rs43.5 crore in 2024. It is also the second-highest opening day for a Hindi film in 2026, behind Dhurandhar: The Revenge.

On Saturday, the film made another Rs53.50 crore net (Rs535 million, about Dh21.9 million) across 16,868 shows, a drop of 13.7 per cent from Friday. That is also Devgn's highest-ever second day, ahead of Singham Again, which made between Rs42.50 crore and Rs44.50 crore on its first Saturday.

After two days, the film's India net collection stood at Rs115.50 crore (Rs1.16 billion, about Dh47.4 million).

Busier as the day went on

Saturday's overall occupancy was 54.54 per cent. Morning shows were 28.77 per cent full, rising to 51.46 per cent in the afternoon, 61.31 per cent in the evening and 76.62 per cent for night shows.

Trade analyst Taran Adarsh said the second-day numbers showed audiences had responded well.

"Had the film not lived up to the sky-high expectations, the cracks would have been visible on Saturday morning itself," he wrote on X. He added that the film is "clearly heading towards the second biggest opening weekend of 2026", after the Dhurandhar sequel.

Strong start overseas

Outside India, the film added Rs20 crore on Saturday, taking its overseas total to Rs38.50 crore (Rs385 million, about Dh15.8 million). The film has one of the widest overseas releases of Devgn's career, opening on more than 1,300 screens across 60 countries.

In the UK, it made £126,309 on Friday and £180,130 on Saturday, a total of £306,439 (about Dh1.6 million), according to Adarsh. In Australia, it collected A$690,121 (about Dh1.9 million) over the same two days.

Sunday so far

By 2pm Indian time on Sunday, which was 12.30pm in the UAE, the film had added Rs23.08 crore net across 8,146 shows. That took its India net total to Rs138.58 crore (Rs1.39 billion, about Dh56.8 million).

Advance bookings for Sunday stood at Rs30.20 crore gross as of 6am, with 851,000 tickets sold. Trade estimates suggest the opening weekend could reach around Rs190 crore (Rs1.9 billion, about Dh77.9 million).

How it compares

The figures are well ahead of both earlier films.

The first Drishyam opened at Rs5.85 crore in 2015, made around Rs7.80 crore on its second day, and went on to gross around Rs110 crore worldwide. Drishyam 2 opened at Rs15.38 crore in 2022 and made Rs21.58 crore on its second day, finishing with around Rs342 crore worldwide.

What audiences and filmmakers are saying

Filmmaker Sujoy Ghosh shared his thoughts on X. "Saw Drishayam 3 last night. Simple, solid and gotey gripping. Full respect to the team and a big thank you as an audience. (...just wanted a little more of tabu but.... :)," he wrote.

Producer G Dhananjheyan called it "a brilliantly written sequel, original, well made and an engaging watch", praising the twists in the final 30 minutes.

Reactions online have been more mixed. Several viewers praised Devgn's performance and the pacing, while others felt the climax did not match the earlier films or that Tabu had too little to do.

Directed by Abhishek Pathak, the film also stars Tabu, Shriya Saran, Jaideep Ahlawat and Prakash Raj.