Drishyam The Conclusion REWRITES Ajay Devgn’s box office history; Tanhaji record set to fall after 6 ½ years; trade says, “The combination of Ajay Devgn and a good franchise makes for a good commercial cinema!”
Drishyam The Conclusion has crossed the Rs. 200 crores mark and is now certain to finish with a lifetime collection of more than Rs. 350 crores. In the process, it will break the six-and-a-half-year-old record held by Tanhaji – The Unsung Warrior (2020) and emerge as Ajay Devgn’s highest-grossing film. The period entertainer had collected Rs. 279.55 crores at the box office. We spoke to trade experts about this remarkable feat.
Trade veteran Taran Adarsh said, “Yes, this will be his biggest hit. The best part is that it doesn’t have songs and action. And yet, it is making those numbers, which is a very positive sign for the industry. It shows that the audience is open to all kinds of cinema, provided it connects with them.”
Trade analyst Atul Mohan made an important point, “This is going to be the biggest solo hit of Ajay Devgn.”
Distributor and exhibitor Raj Bansal opined, “I always believe that when an actor’s last film works, it benefits his next release. Ajay Devgn’s last film, Dhamaal 4, was a huge hit. With Drishyam The Conclusion, almost everyone expected an opening of Rs. 35-40 crores. I didn’t meet a single person in the trade who predicted an opening of Rs. 50 crores. However, the film went on to do Rs. 62 crores on day 1.”
He added, “I spoke to Ajay Devgn two weeks before release and I told him, ‘This would be your career’s biggest film’. He was like, ‘Kya baat kar raha hai tu?’! I remember even during Tanhaji, I had made a similar prediction. I predicted it after watching Tanhaji. With Drishyam The Conclusion, I had not even seen it and yet, I could predict that it’ll be the biggest hit of his career. And that’s what’s going to happen.”
He also added, “Thanks to Drishyam The Conclusion, he’ll surely get a big opening for Golmaal 5.”
Vishek Chauhan, owner of Roopbani Cinema in Purnia, Bihar, agreed, “It’s already his biggest opener, biggest weekend, biggest overseas grosser and now it’ll have the biggest lifetime of his career. This also goes to prove that the combination of Ajay Devgn and a good franchise makes for a good commercial cinema!”
He continued, “His originals open around Rs. 8-15 crore mark depending on the genre and content. The same goes for Akshay Kumar’s original films as well. Their franchise films, meanwhile, can go anywhere. So, I think the future for both Ajay Devgn and Akshay Kumar is to monetize their existing franchises. They’ll be much better off if they come more with franchises. They should also do original movies but 2 franchises a year is ideal. They should also try and build more franchises. I believe Bhooth Bangla is a fantastic film which can be built into a franchise.”
He further said, “Golmaal 5 has both Ajay and Akshay. So, you can imagine the kind of numbers that film will do now. If Drishyam The Conclusion can collect Rs. 62 crores, then Golmaal 5 can collect Rs. 70-80 crores on day 1.”
Vishek then said, “This holds true for Hollywood also. Tom Cruise’s Digger opened at $8-10 million, which was no way close to the first-day numbers of Top Gun and Mission Impossible. Perhaps people want to see the older stars in the franchises.”
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