Hrithik Roshan and Jr NTR’s spy-action thriller ‘War 2’ has surpassed expectations at the domestic box office, delivering an opening day collection of Rs 52.50 crore (early estimates) and catching up to Rajinikanth’s ‘Coolie’ in the race for top spot.War 2 Movie Review
Advance Bookings
Before release, advance booking trends suggested a modest start, with trade analysts predicting the film could record the lowest opening in YRF’s Spy Universe. Many expected it to debut around Rs 43 crore net, similar to Salman Khan’s ‘Tiger 3’, despite its large-scale production and star power.
Hindi Box Office Collections
However, the film surprised at the ticket counters, with the Hindi version contributing an estimated Rs 29 crore net on Day 1. While this figure is a marked improvement over advance ticket sales, it still falls short of several franchise entries, including ‘Ek Tha Tiger’ which earned an estimated Rs 32.93 crore way back in 2012. This makes it the lowest Hindi opener in YRF’s Spy Universe, while Shah Rukh Khan’s ‘Pathaan’ occupies the top spot with a collection of Rs 55 crore.
Poll
Which version of ‘War 2’ do you think performed best at the box office?
Tamil and Telugu Collections
Significantly, it was the Telugu dubbed version that boosted overall earnings, amassing an impressive Rs 23.25 crore net, driven largely by Jr NTR’s massive fan base. The Tamil version added a modest Rs 25 lakh. This strong regional performance helped War 2 comfortably cross the Rs 50 crore mark on opening day.Occupancy figures reflected this divide, Hindi shows recorded 29.24% occupancy on Thursday, while Tamil shows achieved a stronger 42.41%.
War 2 Misses War record
War 2 may have opened big, but it narrowly missed matching the benchmark set by its predecessor, ‘War’ (2019), which had stormed the box office with a record-breaking Rs 53 crore opening day. Despite boasting a bigger budget, scale, a multi-language release, and the added star power of Jr NTR alongside Hrithik , the sequel’s debut collection fell just short of surpassing the original’s milestone. Interestingly, while the original netted a higher Hindi collection, this one relied heavily on the Telugu collections to hit the mark.
Jr NTS’ Fandom
Fans of the latter actor have been praising his performance in the movie. Vijayawada NTR Fans District Association president Kavuri Krishna states that the movie ‘War 2’ has been released in theatres, and they hope NTR’s action will secure great viewership across the world. Talking to ANI he expressed happiness over NTR’s performance in this bilingual film and predicted that the movie would create records at the box office. Krishna said that NTR played a vital role in the film, portraying a character who protects India, and praised Director Mukerji for presenting NTR so well. “Hats off to Mukerji,” he added.Baji, an NTR fan, said that NTR’s character in the movie was “awesome,” and thanked Director Mukerji for choosing Jr NTR for the role. He praised the actor’s dance and fight sequences, saying, “The period before ‘War 2’ and after ‘War 2’ should be calculated separately for his career.”Sunil, another NTR fan, said ‘War 2’ was an excellent film and that NTR has now dominated Bollywood with his performance.
Early Predictions
Industry estimates suggest the film’s total India gross for Day 1 could exceed Rs 60 crore once all language versions are included, with early gross estimates already touching Rs 65 crore.On the whole, the two films have amassed an estimated combined total of Rs 117.50 crore.
Coolie Box Office Collections
Despite its success, competition from ‘Coolie’ in the southern markets and mixed audience reception, praising action but critiquing pacing, may affect momentum. With the Independence Day holiday and weekend ahead, ‘War 2’ still has the potential to build on its strong start and improve its Hindi market performance.DISCLAIMER: The box office numbers in this article are compiled from our proprietary sources and diverse public data. While we strive for accuracy, all figures are approximate unless explicitly mentioned, offering a fair representation of the project’s box office performance. We are open to feedback and suggestions on toientertainment@timesinternet.in.
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