War 2, a highly anticipated film of 2025, is set for theatrical release on August 14th. The movie stars Hrithik Roshan in a lead role from Bollywood and Jr. NTR as the antagonist from the South Indian film industry. Discussions are underway regarding the opening day box office earnings.
As of August 13th at 5 PM, advance bookings across PVR INOX and Cinepolis indicated sales of 111,000 tickets for the first day. It is projected that the total number of pre-booked tickets could reach 175,000 by the time of release. Initial estimates suggest a Hindi-language opening day collection of 30 to 35 crore rupees.
However, in the Tamil market, Rajinikanth’s film, Kuli, presents a significant challenge for War 2. While War 2 has experienced strong advance booking numbers in Hindi, Kuli is enjoying substantial success in the Tamil market.
Data from Sacnilk reveals that as of August 13th at 6 PM, Kuli had sold 1,113,72 tickets in Tamil, while War 2 had only sold 8,310 tickets. Given Rajinikanth’s popularity in Tamil cinema, this level of ticket sales is not unexpected. The key point is that Kuli is also performing better than War 2 in the Telugu market, despite Jr. NTR’s presence in War 2.
As of August 13th at 6 PM, War 2 had sold 271,364 tickets in Telugu, whereas Kuli had booked 287,644 tickets. Across India, War 2 has seen 517,356 tickets sold, compared to Kuli’s 1,440,621 tickets.
Trade analyst Sumit Kadel predicts that War 2 could earn between 28 to 32 crore rupees net on its first day in Hindi. This figure could potentially rise to 35 crore if the reviews are positive. He also estimates that the film could earn 50 to 55 crore rupees across India, including Tamil and Telugu, and a worldwide gross of 90 to 100 crore rupees.