Aditya Dhar’s two-part blockbuster Dhurandhar, starring Ranveer Singh in the lead, is not just dominating theaters but conquering the digital space as well. According to Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos, the epic has emerged as the most-watched non-English title globally on the streaming platform this year.
The Dhurandhar films have already cemented their legacy in cinemas, collectively grossing a staggering Rs 3100 crore at the worldwide box office. Despite the massive theatrical turnout, the franchise has performed exceptionally well on digital platforms.
Speaking at The Indian Express’ Express Adda on Thursday in a conversation with Anant Goenka, Executive Director of the Indian Express Group, Sarandos confirmed the film’s massive digital footprint. “Dhurandhar was the most-watched non-English movie in the world this year,” Sarandos stated. He further emphasised its scale, noting its viewership was “bigger than every other English [movie] and second only to the US and the UK in terms of watching.”
India’s global ‘Squid Game’ moment
During the event, Sarandos was asked when Indian content might experience a massive, unprecedented global crossover similar to South Korea’s Squid Game or Spain’s Money Heist (La casa de papel).
In response, the Netflix chief confidently stated that India is already consistently achieving global milestones. “I hear a lot when I travel around the world, particularly in India… when is India going to have that moment? And I say India has that moment all the time,” he shared.
To back this up, Sarandos revealed that an Indian movie or series has secured a spot in Netflix’s weekly global top 10 list every single week since 2024. Powered by the platform’s intuitive discovery algorithms, global audiences have consumed a massive 3.5 billion hours of Indian content on Netflix so far this year.
How ‘Dhurandhar’ put Indian cinema on top
Looking at the future of Indian storytelling on the global stage, Sarandos predicted that the country’s biggest international impacts will likely stem from feature films rather than television series. He attributed this to India’s “enormous, beautiful, rich, long history of movies.” While noting that early Netflix originals like Sacred Games introduced a new era of Indian television, he believes the country’s strongest cultural export remains its cinema.
The first part of Dhurandhar originally hit theatres in December 2025 and debuted on Netflix shortly before the highly anticipated sequel arrived in cinemas in March 2026. Currently, the second instalment of the film is streaming in India across both Netflix and JioHotstar.
