The sequel wave in Bollywood has a new benchmark, and it wears a very familiar face. "Drishyam 3," the latest chapter in the Ajay Devgn-led franchise, has bulldozed its way past the Rs 250 crore mark in India within just eight days of release, according to early trade estimates. In doing so, it has comfortably overtaken the lifetime domestic haul of "Drishyam 2," the 2022 thriller that many believed had already set the ceiling for this series.

The numbers tell a story of a franchise operating at peak commercial power. "Drishyam 2," released on November 18, 2022, had a domestic lifetime in the vicinity of Rs 240 crore. The new film has sailed past that figure on its eighth day, a pace that suggests word-of-mouth is doing as much heavy lifting as the opening weekend hype. For a series built on slow-burn suspense rather than spectacle, that kind of hold is unusual, and it underlines how deeply the Salgaonkar family's troubles have embedded themselves in the Hindi film audience's imagination.

A Franchise That Keeps Rewriting Its Own Records

The original "Drishyam 2" arrived with its own set of expectations. Directed by Abhishek Pathak, it picked up seven years after the case involving Vijay Salgaonkar and his family had ostensibly been closed, only for a chain of unexpected events to drag the truth back into the light. The official synopsis put it plainly: a series of developments threatened to change everything for the Salgaonkars, and the only question was whether Vijay could save his family this time. That premise, paired with a cast that included Akshaye Khanna as IG Tarun Ahlawat, Tabu as Meera Deshmukh, Shriya Saran as Nandini, Ishita Dutta as Anju, Mrunal Jadhav as Anu, Rajat Kapoor as Mahesh Deshmukh and Saurabh Shukla as Murad Ali, turned the film into one of the most discussed Hindi releases of that year. A TMDb rating of 8.029 out of 10 reflects how well that combination of thriller, drama and mystery landed with viewers.

Now the third installment is not just matching that legacy but expanding it. Crossing Rs 250 crore in eight days places the film in a small club of Hindi sequels that have grown their audience rather than merely retained it. The feat is all the more notable because "Drishyam 3" is competing in a marketplace where several big-ticket releases are jostling for screens and attention.

What Is Driving the Momentum

Trade analysts point to a few factors. First, the franchise's core mystery has always been character-driven, and Ajay Devgn's Vijay Salgaonkar remains the anchor. His portrayal of a middle-class father whose ingenuity is matched only by his desperation has become one of the defining roles of his later career. Second, the supporting ensemble brings theatrical weight that translates into repeat viewings. Tabu and Akshaye Khanna, in particular, have been singled out for performances that give the cat-and-mouse dynamic its tension.

The genre mix matters too. "Drishyam 3" is classified as a thriller, drama and mystery, a blend that allows it to draw in families looking for a substantive plot rather than pure action. With a runtime of 140 minutes, it asks for a committed sit, and audiences appear willing to give it.

The Road Ahead

The question now is how far the film can go. Early trends suggest the second week will hold strongly, aided by the lack of a direct competitor in the same space. If the current trajectory continues, the Rs 300 crore mark is no longer a distant dream, and the franchise could end up redefining what a thinking-person's thriller can achieve at the Hindi box office.

For a series that began as a story about a man protecting his family at any cost, the irony is hard to miss: the Salgaonkars have now become a dependable commercial asset for an entire industry. "Drishyam 3" is not merely a sequel that meets expectations; it is one that has already exceeded the benchmark set by its predecessor, and it is doing so with the kind of staying power that suggests the conclusion is still some way off.

Source: Filmibeat