Disha Patani found her commercial break with Neeraj Pandey's M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story, a biographical sports film based on the life story of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the former captain of the Indian Cricket Team along with Sushant Singh Rajput and Kiara Advani. She played the role of Priyanka Jha, the girlfriend of Mahendra Singh Dhoni who died in a car accident. Directed by Neeraj Pandey and produced by Fox Star Studios, the film was released on 30 September 2016 and was a massive hit with the collections of ₹ 2.16 Billion emerging to be the highest-grossing film for both Sushant Singh Rajput and Disha.Her performance was widely accepted. In her review, Renuka Vyavahare of Times of India reviewed, "the performance of Disha in the film deserves a special mention as her performance tugs at your heartstrings." In addition, she also starred in Jackie Chan's Kung Fu Yoga, along with Sonu Sood.

Patani then acted in Baaghi 2 along with Tiger Shroff, a sequel to 2016 hit Baaghi also starring Tiger Shroff along with Shraddha Kapoor. Produced by Sajid Nadiadwala and directed by Ahmed Khan, the film was released on 30 March 2018 worldwide and grossed approximately ₹243 crore.