Awarapan 2 storms to Rs 1.3 billion worldwide, marking Emraan Hashmi’s biggest box-office comeback

Back in 2007, Awarapan opened to a muted Rs 79 lakh and limped through its theatrical run with just Rs 7.76 crore domestically. Its sequel just made that number nearly four days into release, many times over.

Awarapan 2, starring Emraan Hashmi, added Rs 9.25 crore net in India on Monday, its fourth day in theatres, according to trade tracker Sacnilk. That pushed the film's total India net collection to Rs 91 crore, while its global gross has already crossed Rs 130 crore, specifically Rs 130.82 crore worldwide as of Tuesday morning, per the same tracker.

Monday's number does mark a steep fall from the weekend, a 64.4% drop from Sunday's Rs 26 crore. The film played across 10,849 shows on Day 4, with occupancy figures reported around 22-23%. Still, a first-Monday drop of this size is fairly standard after a strong opening weekend, and Awarapan 2's underlying numbers remain healthy.

The film's opening stretch tells the story of its momentum: Rs 22 crore net on its Friday release (August 14), a jump to Rs 33.75 crore on Saturday thanks to the Independence Day holiday, and Rs 26 crore more on Sunday — adding up to a three-day total of Rs 81.75 crore before Monday's collection pushed it past Rs 90 crore.

Awarapan 2 released the same day as Sunny Deol's Batwara 1947, and the gap between the two has only grown. Batwara 1947 managed just Rs 2 crore net on Monday, bringing its own four-day total to Rs 28.50 crore, a fraction of what Awarapan 2 has pulled in over the same stretch.

According to Hindustan Times, trade estimates currently place Awarapan 2's lifetime India net somewhere between Rs 150-160 crore, though a strong hold over the next two weeks, before Yash's Toxic arrives in theatres — could push that figure higher still. If the film keeps up anything close to its current pace, Rs 200 crore isn't out of the question.

Directed by Nitin Kakkar and produced by Vishesh Bhatt, Awarapan 2 brings Emraan Hashmi back as Shiv Pandit nearly 19 years after the original. Disha Patani and Shabana Azmi round out the principal cast, alongside Puran Gabbi, Anirudh Rawal, Surendar Vicky, Vijayant Kohli, and Atul Kumar.

The numbers matter beyond the franchise itself. This is reportedly the biggest opening of Hashmi's career, and a significant turnaround after Tiger 3 (2023). His recent run, Ae Watan Mere Watan on Prime Video, plus theatrical releases Haq and Ground Zero, all as solo lead — earned him praise but didn't convert into box office numbers. For Disha Patani, the film is her second hit of the year after Welcome to the Jungle (which crossed Rs 159 crore worldwide), and could rank among her biggest successes yet, alongside Baaghi 2 and MS Dhoni: The Untold Story.

There's some poetic justice here too: the 2007 original, which also starred Shriya Saran, was a commercial failure on release but slowly built a cult following over the years, a fanbase persistent enough that it eventually pushed the makers toward a sequel.

That fan loyalty showed up in person. During a surprise visit to a theatre screening the film, Hashmi met audience members watching for the second or third time, and told them: "I hope you like it. This is made only for you." He also hinted at the possibility of a third installment.