Bollywood
Dhamaal 4 Box Office: Can Ajay Devgn's sequel topple Welcome to join Bollywood's Top 3 comedy brands?
BY SACNILK
Bollywood comedy franchises have become some of the most reliable assets for producers over the last two decades. While action films often grab headlines for their massive openings, comedy series like Housefull, Golmaal, and Dhamaal have built a loyal fanbase that ensures longevity at the ticket windows. As Dhamaal 4 makes its theatrical debut today, July 10, 2026, the stakes are higher than ever for this slapstick series to climb the all-time rankings. The success ratio of these franchises is remarkably high. Looking at the records, the Housefull series has seen four out of its five films being tagged as Hits or Superhits. Similarly, the Golmaal franchise has a flawless record, with Golmaal 3 becoming a historic milestone in 2010 as the first-ever Bollywood comedy franchise film to enter the ₹100 crore club. This consistency is what separates these brands from standalone comedy hits; they have the unique ability to bring family audiences back to the silver screen regardless of critics' reviews. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}) Highest Grossing Comedy Franchises in Bollywood - Worldwide Box OfficeRANKFRANCHISEFILMSWORLDWIDE COLLECTION1Housefull5₹ 1,077.77 Cr2Golmaal4₹ 599.66 Cr3Welcome*3₹ 468.26 Cr4Dhamaal (Pre-Part 4)3₹ 354.48 Cr5Fukrey3₹ 290.75 Cr *Welcome includes the current worldwide box office collection of Welcome to the Jungle, which is still running in its third week of release. The Housefull franchise currently stands at the top of the mountain. It remains the only comedy series in Indian cinema to cross the ₹1,000 crore milestone worldwide. While Housefull 2 marked the entry into the elite tier in 2012, it was Housefull 4 in 2019 that completely redefined the scale by raking in nearly ₹300 crore globally. More recently, Housefull 5 set a record-breaking pace in 2025 by entering the ₹100 crore net club in just 4 days, eventually finishing with a domestic net of ₹183.38 crore. Housefull Franchise: Housefull | Worldwide: ₹119.00 Cr Housefull 2 | Worldwide: ₹188.40 Cr Housefull 3 | Worldwide: ₹185.70 Cr Housefull 4 | Worldwide: ₹296.00 Cr Housefull 5 | Worldwide: ₹288.67 Cr (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}) Following closely is the Golmaal franchise. While it has one fewer film than Housefull, its peak performance has been massive. Golmaal Again in 2017 shattered expectations by grossing ₹205 crore net in India alone. It established 13 independent box office records at the time and proved that Ajay Devgn could dominate holiday slots usually reserved for the Khans. With Golmaal 5 already in development, the battle for the top spot is far from over. Golmaal Franchise: Golmaal: Fun Unlimited | Worldwide: ₹46.70 Cr Golmaal Returns | Worldwide: ₹82.04 Cr Golmaal 3 | Worldwide: ₹162.30 Cr Golmaal Again | Worldwide: ₹308.62 Cr The Welcome franchise has been a consistent box office heavyweight since 2007, when the original film finished as the second-highest grosser of the year, just behind Om Shanti Om. Beyond turning Majnu Bhai and Uday Shetty into pop-culture icons, the series has shown remarkable financial legs across decades. With the ongoing run of Welcome to the Jungle, the franchise's cumulative worldwide total has climbed to ₹468.26 crore, setting a high bar for Dhamaal 4 as it attempts to break into the top three comedy brands. Welcome Franchise: Welcome | Worldwide: ₹119.50 Cr Welcome Back | Worldwide: ₹168.70 Cr Welcome To The Jungle | Worldwide: ₹180.06 Cr Even franchises like Fukrey have demonstrated that comedy often succeeds through steady momentum rather than just initial hype. The Fukrey films hold a unique box office milestone because of how the journey began. While the first Fukrey in 2013 opened to a tiny and negligible day-one number, it eventually achieved an incredible sleeper hit status purely through positive word-of-mouth. This shows that in the comedy genre, audience appreciation can often override a slow start at the ticket windows, a trend Dhamaal 4 will be looking to capitalize on as it moves through its first weekend. Fukrey Franchise: Fukrey | Worldwide: ₹50.70 Cr Fukrey Returns | Worldwide: ₹112.30 Cr Fukrey 3 | Worldwide: ₹127.75 Cr (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}) The Dhamaal franchise, however, is the one in focus today. Before the release of the fourth installment, the series stood at a combined ₹354.48 crore. Total Dhamaal in 2019 was the turning point, achieving blockbuster status in mass territories like Gujarat and settling at a colossal ₹155.67 crore net in India. For Dhamaal 4 to push the franchise into the third spot, it needs to overtake the Welcome series, which currently sits at ₹468.26 crore. This means Dhamaal 4 needs a lifetime worldwide gross of roughly ₹114 crore—a figure that looks very achievable given the initial trends. Dhamaal Franchise: Dhamaal | Worldwide: ₹51.30 Cr Double Dhamaal | Worldwide: ₹71.00 Cr Total Dhamaal | Worldwide: ₹232.18 Cr Based on the final advance booking data, Dhamaal 4 has sold approximately 92.81K tickets on BookMyShow, trending ahead of films like OMG 2 and Jolly LLB 3. The total Day 1 advance gross stands at ₹2.57 crore without block seats and ₹5.79 crore with them. Historically, these mass-market comedies see a huge surge in spot bookings for evening shows. National chains like PVR, INOX, and Cinepolis have contributed 1.65 crore to the gross, showing that the urban audience is turning up. If the film follows the growth pattern of its predecessor, we are looking at an opening day India net in the range of ₹9 to ₹11 crore. While this is lower than the ₹16 crore opening of Total Dhamaal, a steady weekend could easily propel the film toward a healthy lifetime total. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}) The real test for the film will be its performance in mass circuits like Maharashtra and Gujarat, which have historically been the backbone for the Dhamaal and Golmaal films. Maharashtra is already leading the charts today with a gross of nearly 60 lakh in advance sales. If the film manages to sustain its momentum through the weekend, it will comfortably cement the Dhamaal series as one of the most bankable comedy brands in the country.
