Thirty years. That is how long Ajay Devgn has been fronting Hindi films, from Phool Aur Kaante in 1991 to the multiplex era of today. Through all of it, one club stayed closed to him. Until Sunday night.
Drishyam 3: The Conclusion, the crime thriller that opened on October 2, has crossed Rs 300 crore net at the domestic box office. It took the film exactly ten days to get there, and in doing so it gave Devgn two records he has never held before: his first film in the Rs 300 crore club, and the highest-grossing film of his career as a leading man.
The numbers, tracked by industry tracker Sacnilk, are staggering. India net stands at Rs 309 crore. India gross is Rs 370.80 crore. Add Rs 109 crore from overseas, and the worldwide gross touches Rs 479.80 crore. For context, the film was made on a reported budget of around Rs 110 crore. It has multiplied that in ten days.
The second-weekend bounce that sealed it
If there was any doubt left at the end of week one, this weekend buried it. Drishyam 3 earned Rs 63.50 crore across its second weekend in India, a figure most new releases in 2026 have failed to reach across their entire run.
The day-wise split tells the story of a film with genuine legs. Second Friday brought Rs 14.50 crore. Then came the jump: Rs 26.50 crore on second Saturday, up a sharp 80 percent. Second Sunday, the milestone day, added Rs 22.50 crore across 14,872 shows. That is more than a 90 percent leap from the film’s second Friday, the classic signature of strong word of mouth.
Trade analysts had called it in advance. “300 not out today,” was the weekend prediction, and the film delivered on schedule.
How Vijay Salgaonkar reached 300 in ten days
The sprint started before a single ticket was torn. Advance bookings, which opened on September 27, pulled in Rs 27 crore. When the film released on the Gandhi Jayanti holiday on October 2, it opened at Rs 61 crore net, the biggest opening of Devgn’s career and one of the three biggest Hindi openings of all time.
The opening weekend amassed Rs 176.50 crore. Then came the Monday test, the real measure of a film’s pull, and Drishyam 3 passed it with Rs 21 crore. Weekday collections tapered as expected: Rs 19.50 crore on Tuesday, Rs 15.50 crore on Wednesday and Rs 13 crore on Thursday. Week one closed at Rs 245.50 crore. The second-weekend surge then took it past the milestone on day ten.
Dethroning Tanhaji, finally
Before this October, Devgn’s ceiling was Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior. The 2020 period action film finished its run with Rs 279.59 crore net in India and Rs 367.65 crore worldwide, and held the crown for over six years. Drishyam 3 has now beaten both numbers domestically and globally, ending Tanhaji’s reign and giving Devgn a new benchmark film.
The franchise curve is just as remarkable. The original Hindi Drishyam (2015), a remake of Mohanlal’s Malayalam thriller, earned around Rs 110 crore worldwide. Drishyam 2 (2022) tripled that ambition and closed near Rs 342 crore globally. The third chapter, directed once again by Abhishek Pathak with Tabu, Shriya Saran, Rajat Kapoor and a cameo by Saurabh Shukla, has left both predecessors behind in less than two weeks.
Where it stands in 2026’s box office race
Drishyam 3 is now the fourth Hindi film of 2026 to enter the Rs 300 crore net club, joining Dhurandhar 2, Border 2 and Hanuman Ansh. Worldwide, it sits at number two among Bollywood releases this year with Rs 479.80 crore, ahead of Border 2’s Rs 464.50 crore and Hanuman Ansh’s Rs 425.48 crore. Only Dhurandhar 2, with a mammoth Rs 1,852.44 crore worldwide, stands above it.
Domestically, the chase is still on. Hanuman Ansh hovers around Rs 334 crore net in India and Border 2 around Rs 330 crore. With the current momentum and the film’s hold in family audiences, Drishyam 3 could overtake both in the coming days. The Rs 500 crore worldwide mark is also within sight.
What next
The real question now is the third week. Competition will arrive, and the film’s weekday drops in week two will reveal whether it has the legs for a Rs 350 crore domestic finish. But the milestone that mattered most has already been reached. A middle-aged thriller franchise, without a festival-season song-and-dance spectacle, has outperformed every star vehicle in Devgn’s three-decade career. That says something about where the audience’s trust lies right now: story first, star second.
FAQs
When did Drishyam 3 cross Rs 300 crore?
The film crossed the Rs 300 crore net mark in India on its second Sunday, October 11, 2026, its tenth day in theatres. Total India net stands at Rs 309 crore.
Is Drishyam 3 Ajay Devgn’s biggest hit?
Yes. It has dethroned Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior (Rs 279.59 crore net) to become the highest-grossing film of Devgn’s career, and his first to enter the Rs 300 crore club.
What is the worldwide collection of Drishyam 3?
Rs 479.80 crore worldwide gross, comprising Rs 370.80 crore India gross and Rs 109 crore from overseas.
Who directed Drishyam 3?
Abhishek Pathak, who also directed Drishyam 2. The film is backed by Star Studio18 and Panorama Studios and stars Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shriya Saran and Rajat Kapoor.
Box office figures are based on early estimates reported by trade trackers and may be revised slightly as final studio numbers come in. The conclusion, for now, is exactly what the film promised: Vijay Salgaonkar wins again.
