'DY2' Rewrites Sri Lankan Box Office History with Record-Breaking Opening Weekend

COLOMBO (News 1st); Sri Lankan cinema witnessed a landmark moment over the weekend as 'Dharmayuddaya II' stormed the local box office, setting a new all-time record for the highest-grossing opening weekend by a Sinhala film.

From Friday to Sunday, the film surpassed the previous opening-weekend benchmark and firmly etched its name into the annals of local film history.

What makes this achievement particularly significant is its historical context: this record has been set against over 100 years of Sri Lankan Sinhala cinema, a century marked by evolving audiences, shifting exhibition models, and changing cultural tastes.

In that long and storied journey, DY2 now stands as the strongest theatrical opening the industry has ever recorded.

Screened across 85 cinemas islandwide, the film’s opening-weekend performance reflected steady and accelerating audience momentum. Collections showed a strong upward trend from Friday through Saturday, before peaking decisively on Sunday — a clear indication of powerful word-of-mouth traction as the weekend progressed.

Audience turnout tells an equally compelling story. A total of 53,000 patrons visited cinemas during DY2’s opening weekend — nearly three times the 18,500 patrons who attended the first weekend of DY1 upon its release in 2017.

The scale of this growth signals a rare phenomenon in local cinema: a sequel that not only retains its audience but expands it dramatically.

Sunday, the 25th of January, proved especially telling. Over 50 showtimes across 30 cinemas recorded house-full screenings. Notably, this surge was not confined to Colombo or major urban centres. Regional and rural cinemas in areas such as Moneragala and Malsiripura also reported full houses — a strong indicator of the film’s broad national appeal.

Perhaps most striking was the response from cinemas traditionally associated with Tamil-language programming. Venues such as Wasanthi Cinema (Vavuniya), G.K. Cinema (Kalmunai), Cine City (Colombo), Eros Cinema (Pamakada), Saraswathi Cinema and S.A.S. Plaza (Trincomalee), along with Selvam Cinema (Chenkaladi), allocated showtimes for DY2 during its very first weekend, responding to exceptional audience demand. Such crossover exhibition remains rare and highlights the film’s ability to cut across linguistic and regional viewing patterns.

Taken together, these indicators point to more than just a successful opening. They reflect a moment of renewed confidence in the theatrical experience and a reminder of cinema’s enduring power to draw audiences — across regions, languages, and demographics — into shared spaces.

As DY2 continues its theatrical run, its opening weekend has already secured its place in history, not merely as a commercial triumph, but as a defining chapter in the century-long story of Sinhala cinema.