War 2: Can Hrithik Roshan beat his 2019 War record of Rs 4.75 billion as Coolie rockets in pre-sales?

Director Ayan Mukerji’s highly anticipated spy thriller War 2, starring Hrithik Roshan and Jr NTR, is set to hit cinemas tomorrow, August 14, ahead of Independence Day. While excitement is high, advance bookings suggest that its opening day collection may fall short not only of its current competition, but also of the first War film, which released in 2019 and set the benchmark for the franchise.

As of Wednesday morning, War 2 is projected to earn approximately Rs 18.37 crore domestically on day one, including Rs 8.34 crore from block bookings. The majority of the remainder comes from the Hindi version, estimated at Rs 6 crore, across 2D, IMAX 2D, 4DX, ICE, and Dolby Cine formats. Advance bookings for the Hindi version began last weekend.

The 2019 Bollywood action thriller War, starring Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff and directed by Siddharth Anand, was a massive box office success and became the highest-grossing Indian film of the year. Produced on a budget of Rs 205 crore, the film earned approximately Rs 475.62 crore worldwide, including Rs 318.01 crore nett (Rs 78.58 crore gross) in India and around Rs 97.04 crore overseas, with about $4.65 million from the United States alone. War set records for the highest opening day collection for a Bollywood film at Rs 53.35 crore and outperformed all other major releases of 2019, delivering substantial profits for its producers.

While War 2 is generating buzz, it is unlikely to claim the top spot among Indian openers this week. Lokesh Kanagaraj’s Coolie, starring Rajinikanth, leads with domestic advance bookings of Rs 30 crore across Tamil and dubbed Hindi, Telugu, and Kannada versions.

Globally, Coolie has already amassed Rs 75 crore in advance ticket sales, compared to War 2’s less than Rs 50 crore, giving the superstar’s film a clear edge for its opening weekend.