Drishyam: The Conclusion is heading for a historic Rs. 50-60 crore opening as its advance booking smashes records for an Ajay Devgn film.

As of Monday noon, the film had sold 55,000 tickets across the top three national chains, PVR Inox and Cinepolis, and is headed to record the biggest-ever advance for Devgn, according to Bollywood Hungama. Boxofficeworldwide reported 50,000 tickets sold in the first 24 hours.

The film is tracking towards a Rs. 50 crore start at the very least, with the potential to touch Rs. 60 crore on day one. That would be the biggest opener of Devgn’s career, beating Singham Again’s Rs. 43.7 crore.

The third and final chapter of the franchise, directed by Abhishek Pathak and starring Tabu, Shriya Saran, Prakash Raj and Jaideep Ahlawat, releases on October 2, a Gandhi Jayanti holiday.

It has also crossed Rs. 8 crore in pre-release advance sales, and is seeing strong momentum overseas, where it is likely to get Devgn’s best-ever opening. Why it matters: a dialogue-driven drama posting action-film numbers would rewrite trade wisdom.