India, Dec. 19 -- When director Aditya Dhar's Dhurandhar was released in theatres on December 5, reports began to trickle in of block bookings over its first weekend.

"The story of the film is something like the hero infiltrating the terrorists but here it's become about infiltrating the multiplexes and buying tickets," the trade magazine Box Office India noted, while reporting that the film didn't need such tactics. It was already garnering good word-of-mouth publicity, and seemed poised to make up for its lacklustre opening.

Dhurandhar really did gather steam. It is now set to be one of the biggest hits of 2025.

The film follows an Indian spy named Hamza (Ranveer Singh) who infiltrates a criminal gang in Karachi by posing as a lowly ...