Mumbai, August 18 — After a thunderous start at the box office, Ayan Mukerji’s spy thriller War 2, starring Hrithik Roshan and Jr NTR, has experienced a notable slowdown in collections following its extended Independence Day weekend. The film, which opened on August 14, earned ₹52 crore on its first day and peaked at ₹57.35 crore on August 15, buoyed by the national holiday. However, the momentum waned over the weekend, with Saturday bringing in ₹33.25 crore and Sunday slipping further to ₹31 crore.
Despite the weekend dip, War 2 managed to collect ₹173.60 crore in its four-day opening run across all languages. The Hindi version led the charge, contributing ₹130 crore, while the Telugu version, boosted by Jr NTR’s presence, added ₹57 crore. The Tamil version remained modest, with daily earnings under ₹1 crore.
Monday marked a steep fall, with early estimates indicating earnings of just ₹1.69 crore, signaling a challenging week ahead for the film’s box office prospects. The drop has raised concerns about the film’s ability to sustain momentum and reach the ₹300 crore benchmark, especially with no major holidays in sight.
War 2 is part of YRF’s expanding Spy Universe and features Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana, and Anil Kapoor in pivotal roles. While the film broke multiple records on its opening day—including Hrithik Roshan’s biggest worldwide opener and Kiara Advani’s highest first-day grosser—it now faces stiff competition from Rajinikanth’s Coolie, which has shown stronger consistency in both domestic and overseas markets.
Trade analysts suggest that weekday performance will be critical in determining the film’s long-term success. With a reported production cost of ₹400 crore, War 2 must maintain steady collections to break even and challenge other top-grossing films of 2025, such as Mahavatar Narshimha, Housefull 5, and Raid 2.
