The final chapter of one of Bollywood's most loved thriller franchises arrives in cinemas today. Ajay Devgn's Drishyam: The Conclusion, releasing on the Gandhi Jayanti holiday of October 2, is drawing unprecedented pre-release interest, with trade trackers reporting record advance sales for the film.The film brings back Devgn as Vijay Salgaonkar, alongside Tabu, Shriya Saran, Ishita Dutta, Rajat Kapoor, Prakash Raj and Mrunal Jadhav. Unlike the first two instalments, the third part follows an original storyline that takes Vijay into a darker, more intense battle, diverging completely from the Malayalam franchise. Both Devgn and director Abhishek Pathak have confirmed this will be the definitive end of the Hindi franchise's story.
Advance sales split trade trackers
Pre-release figures reported by trade outlets differ in their detail, reflecting how early the counting is. One live tracker put the record advance booking at Rs 38 crore. Separately, reported figures from Sacnilk cited in trade coverage put ticket sales at 5.43 lakh tickets across 12,132 shows for about Rs 20 crore in gross advance sales, with overseas day-one advances of more than Rs 3 crore and total weekend pre-sales above Rs 5 crore. Another trade report put the day-one tally at 2.50 lakh tickets.
What the trackers agree on is the scale: with the trade eyeing an opening between Rs 35 crore and Rs 50 crore, the film is positioned for one of the biggest Bollywood debuts of the year, aided by the extended holiday window.
A finale years in the making
Devgn has said he called Malayalam superstar Mohanlal, whose own Drishyam franchise inspired the Hindi remakes, to seek his approval before taking the third film in a completely new direction. With the franchise now stepping beyond adaptation, The Conclusion is being watched as much for its storytelling gamble as for its box-office outcome.
Sources:
Drishyam 3 Movie Review and Release LIVE Updates: Ajay Devgn Film Registers Record-Breaking Rs 38 Crore Advance Booking — Times Now
Drishyam The Conclusion Day 1 Advance Booking: Ajay Devgn Starrer Eyes Rs 50 Crore Opening — Republic
Drishyam 3 Advance Booking: Ajay Devgn goes on a BOX OFFICE RAID — Bollywood Hungama