Mumbai, April 23 - The box office journey of Dhurandhar 2: The Revenge has been nothing short of historic, but the bigger picture now reveals a fascinating reality. While the film is within touching distance of Baahubali 2, surpassing Dangal is now a pipe dream.

It is not that Dhurandhar 2 was always going to surpass Dangal's lifetime worldwide collection of 2070 crores, as the latter had the rare advantage that most Indian films never had and still don't have - China. However, China was not the only thing that stopped the Ranveer Singh starrer from achieving ultimate glory. Here are some of the reasons that prevented Dhurandhar 2 from beating Dangal.

No China and Gulf Effect

A major pillar behind Dangal's historic success was its extraordinary performance in China, where it minted a staggering 1300+ crores. The film witnessed an unprecedented reception there, contributing a massive portion to its worldwide total. It was the luxury Dhurandhar 2 didn't have (yet).

On top of China, Dhurandhar 2 also had a setback when it comes to the Gulf markets, one of the biggest revenue sources for Indian films. Due to its anti-Pakistan content, the film faces a ban in the region, preventing it from adding another 100 crores or so to its massive global tally.

In terms of regular markets, Dhurandhar 2's overseas performence has been historic. Without China, Dangal grossed 230 crores in international markets. On the other hand, the spy action thriller has already scored 422+ crores without any support from China as well as the Gulf. This shows how decisive China market proved in favour of Aamir Khan's sports biopic.

No Strong Regional Languages Turnout

It is not something comparable with Dangal, but to make it up for China advantange and beat it, Dhurandhar 2 needed more from other Indian languages, especially in Telugu, than what it got. In the era of Pan India dominance, multi lingual statergy has played a pivotal roles. The biggest Telugu blockbusters has one thing common - Hindi.

A large share of total domestic, or take worldwide collection for Telugu origin movies have come from Hindi languages, be it Pushpa 2, Baahubali 2, RRR, and others. The trade was betting big on other languages, especially after the first film got incredibaly positive reception from Southern Indian audiences. Dhurandhar 2 too got super positive word of mouth, but it didn't entirely translated into ticket sales.

While the movie performence well in Telugu states and Karnataka, it couldn't find a breakout success in regional languages, grossing around 80 crores in South Indian languages, an incredibaly low number as compared to what a Telugu film of this level could have make in Hindi. As a result, Dhurandhar 2 will end up as the third biggest grosser at the Indian box office, behind Baahubali 2 and Pushpa 2.

Adult Certification Barrier

One of the biggest structural disadvantages for Dhurandhar 2 was its adult (A) certification. This significantly restricted its audience base, keeping younger viewers and a large section of family audiences away from theatres. While the target audience flocked to theatres, the adult rating still kept a large number of people away from it, which ultimately reduced total potential of footfalls, even though Dhurandhar 2 is still the greatest adult rated Indian blockbuster.

Impact of Long Runtime

Runtime is an often overlooked but crucial factor in box office performance, and when mixed with high ticket prices, it becomes a deadly combo against the film's overall potential. Dhurandhar 2's lengthy duration (nearly 4 hours) reduced the number of shows theatres could screen in a day. Over time, this limits overall ticket sales, especially when compared to films with tighter runtimes. Exibitors did try to make it up by scheduling round the clock showcasing but the capacity issue was still there.