How Dhurandhar Surpassed Animal and Jawan to Set an All-Time Netflix Record

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Ranveer Singh’s spy thriller, Dhurandhar, just broke records on Netflix. It had the biggest opening weekend ever for an Indian film on the platform. The movie premiered on 30 January 2026 and amassed 7.6 million views in just three days. This beat the records held by Animal (6.2 million) and Pushpa 2: The Rule (5.8 million).

Dhurandhar has now become the first Indian film to pass 7 million views during its streaming debut. This success shows that global audiences love watching over-the-top Indian action movies online.

A New King of the Streaming Jungle

The success of Dhurandhar on Netflix follows its huge success in theaters. The movie earned over Rs. 1,250 crore at the global box office. Aditya Dhar directed the film. It stars famous actors like Akshaye Khanna, Sanjay Dutt, and R. Madhavan. 

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According to data from The Statesman, the film’s dominance is ‘about timing and hype.’ It became the number one movie in 22 different countries, including Pakistan, the UAE, and Qatar. However, previously, the movie was banned in theaters in some of those regions.

The film is rated A and is over three and a half hours long. Many experts thought the long length would stop people from watching it. Instead, it beat the total views of movies like War 2 in just one week.

How Does Dhurandhar Redefine the 'Star Value' Economy?

The budget of the film shows a massive change in how actors get paid, as it cost about Rs. 280 crore to make, a significant portion of which went to the actors. This project used a new ‘hybrid actor-investor model.’

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The Economic Times highlights how Ranveer Singh's hybrid actor-investor model delivered a 3.5x return. The actor’s Rs. 25 crore equity stake and Rs. 50 crore acting fee generated a Rs. 88 crore revenue, signaling the future of talent economics in India.

This new model helps independent producers as stars now take a stake in the movie instead of just a flat fee. This leaves more money for VFX and global ads, allowing them to produce visually appealing movies with bigger stories. Netflix also reportedly paid between Rs. 130 crore and Rs. 285 crore to attain streaming rights for Dhurandhar. This shows that streaming hits are now a major goal for the film industry.

The record-breaking start for Dhurandhar is just the beginning for this franchise now that the sequel, Dhurandhar 2, is set to hit the theaters on 19 March 2026. The film industry is watching to see if the second movie can be just as popular. 

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