Mukesh Ambani’s Jio Studios just quietly became the number 1 content studio in India — and a single film franchise did it. Made at a budget of around ₹350 crore, both the Dhurandhar films — Dhurandhar and Dhurandhar: The Revenge — together crossed ₹3,000 crore globally.
Ambani credited the franchise for catapulting Jio Studios to the top spot in Indian entertainment. “It achieved an unprecedented 40%+ of India’s box office,” he said in a letter to the shareholders.
Jio Studios has achieved the distinction of having the highest-grossing films three years in a row.
“Jio Studios has achieved the unique distinction of having the highest-grossing film three years in a row with Stree 2 in 2024, Dhurandhar in 2025 and Dhurandhar: The Revenge in 2026, demonstrating consistency and undisputed leadership,” said Ambani.
DO CHECKOUT | Ranveer Singh-led ‘Dhurandhar’ franchise to get 3rd part? What we know so far
“FY 2025-26 saw Jio Studios release ‘the record-smashing spy action thrillers Dhurandhar and Dhurandhar: The Revenge (together the Dhurandhar franchise), creating new benchmarks in box office, release strategy, monetisation models and customer engagement, globally,” he stated.
According to him, this conviction from Jio Studios disrupted the storytelling landscape with the Dhurandhar franchise. “The first part on its own created a record to become the highest-grossing Indian film of all time. The film saw an unprecedented run of 15 straight weeks till the second part hit the cinema screens amid massive anticipation and smashed records set by the first part.”
Why did the franchise work at the box office?
The Dhurandhar franchise became the talk of the town among cinephiles and moviegoers alike. To many, the Dhurandhar movies were a move away from the rosy depiction of spies that we saw in films before Dhurandhar.
In the two movies, Dhar managed to weave an engaging and compelling screenplay around real-life events portrayed by actors who looked too close to the real-life characters.
A prime example of weaving real-life events into a great screenplay is when Hamza’s character enters Pakistan in the middle of the Lyari gang wars. The film shows an unvarnished version of Rahman Dakait and other such criminal figures who become dreaded dons and their takedown by SP Chaudhary Aslam as part of Operation Lyari.
SEE THIS | Why Dhurandhar felt like a breath of fresh air for Indian audiences
Towards the end of Part 1, the film shows a handler in Pakistan watching the live coverage of the 26/11 attacks that shook Mumbai and the entire country. ‘Peak detalling’ by casting director Mukesh Chhabra became evident when we saw Ankit Sagar play Javed Khanani.
The choice of Sanjay Dutt to play the slain SP Chaudhary Aslam was also a genius move. The slain Pakistani police officer was known as ‘Babacop’ among his rank and file since he was a diehard fan of Sanjay Dutt.
Is Dhurandhar 3 in the works?
Dhurandhar producer Jyoti Deshpande said that the makers are “not done yet” with the spy thriller franchise. While speaking to Bollywood Hungama, she said, “We’re not done with Dhurandhar yet. We’ll hopefully have a surprise for the audience later this year. There’s something up our sleeves.”
