Indian films have occasionally made a strong impact at the global box office, but very few have managed to finish ahead of major Hollywood releases during the same weekend. Films such as ‘RRR’, ‘Jawan’ and ‘Kalki 2898 AD’ have made their presence felt internationally, while ‘Dhurandhar: The Revenge’ also emerged as a major global success. However, Ajay Devgn-starrer ‘Drishyam: The Conclusion’ has now achieved a new milestone by finishing ahead of a Tom Cruise film in a direct box-office clash.The third instalment of the ‘Drishyam’ franchise has emerged as the second highest-grossing film worldwide over its opening weekend. The film had a powerful start in India, collecting Rs 62 crore net on its opening day. It maintained its momentum over the weekend and ended its first three days with Rs 176.50 crore net, translating to around Rs 211.80 crore or $22 million gross.The film also made its presence felt in overseas markets. While its opening in the US and Canada was not as explosive as its performance in India, it still managed to put up a respectable number. According to Comscore and Box Office Mojo, ‘Drishyam: The Conclusion’ earned $2.7 million across North America from slightly more than 500 theatres.Its performance in other international territories has been stronger, with markets across Europe and the Gulf contributing more than $3.4 million. By Sunday, the film had accumulated an estimated $28.4 million, or approximately Rs 273 crore, worldwide.That figure placed ‘Drishyam: The Conclusion’ at No. 2 globally for the weekend. The only film ahead of it was Anne Hathaway and Dakota Johnson’s erotic thriller ‘Verity’, which registered a massive $62.6 million worldwide, including $32 million from the US and Canada.More significantly, ‘Drishyam: The Conclusion’ finished ahead of Tom Cruise’s ‘Digger’, which also arrived in cinemas during the weekend. The film marked Cruise’s return to director-backed projects after a series of action-heavy outings but opened to around $20 million worldwide, falling short of the Ajay Devgn-starrer.The Hindi film also finished ahead of another major Hollywood release, Brad Pitt’s ‘Heart of the Beast’. The latter collected $28 million in its second weekend, placing it third globally. ‘Resident Evil’ rounded off the top five with an estimated weekend worldwide collection of $24.5 million.‘Drishyam: The Conclusion’ brings back Ajay Devgn as Vijay Salgaonkar, alongside Tabu, Shriya Saran, Rajat Kapoor, Ishita Dutta, Mrunal Jadhav and Kamlesh Sawant. Saurabh Shukla also returns from ‘Drishyam 2’ in a cameo, while Jaideep Ahlawat and Prakash Raj are the new additions to the cast.Written and directed by Abhishek Pathak, the film hit theatres on October 2, a significant date for the franchise. Unlike the first two Hindi films, which were remakes of the Malayalam ‘Drishyam’ films, the third instalment follows an original story and takes the franchise in a new direction.
