Hrithik Roshan took to social media on Sunday to announce War 2 advance bookings finally open in India. So far, the film has minted more than ₹2 crore already, despite some challenges. The film releases on Thursday, August 14.
Hrithik Roshan stars with Jr NTR in War 2. A positive prediction for War 2
As per Sacnilk.com, by 9pm Sunday, the advance booking figure has crossed ₹2.24 crore. The figures are for about 9000 shows in Hindi (2D, IMAX, DOLBY, 4DX and other formats), 100 for Tamil and 115 for Telugu. The Telugu shows are less than expected, considering the film also stars a popular Telugu actor, Jr NTR.
While the numbers seem promising, War 2 will also have to fight a giant to grab more eyes in theatres. The giant is Rajinikanth’s Coolie, which also releases on the same day.
Sacnilk report also mentioned that with ‘block seats’, the number is close to ₹7.6 crore. Block seats are usually reserved by theatres for spot booking and/or studios as part of special schemes or in-house promotions.
YRF declared advanced booking open on Sunday with special video. The caption on Instagram read, “Are you ready to witness the CARNAGE in cinemas from August 14th? BOOK TICKETS NOW for #War2 and let us give you an experience to cherish for the rest of your lives 🔥🔥 Releasing in Hindi, Telugu & Tamil in theatres worldwide.”
Earlier last week, international advance booking also opened for War 2, however, the response there was not so warm. A day after US pre-sales for War 2 opened, the Telugu version showed some momentum, but the Hindi release was struggling. Data from major ticketing platforms indicates that most large theatres screening the Hindi version for Wednesday premieres haven’t sold a single ticket. Trade sources say YRF is releasing the Hindi version in 900 US screens for paid previews, yet as of last Sunday morning, only about 1,600 tickets had been sold, leaving many auditoriums almost empty.
About War 2
War 2 brings back Hrithik as rogue R&AW agent, Kabir. He is faced with a new villain this time, played by Jr NTR. His love interest has also switched this time from Vaani Kapoor to Kiara Advani.
On working with Jr NTR for the first time, Hrithik said, “I see a lot of myself in Tarak. We have had very similar journeys for 25 years now, and I think Tarak sees a little bit of himself in me also. It is true when they say that he is a one-take final-take star. On set, Tarak, I have not just observed you, but I have learnt from you. I have learnt how to go into a shot 100% — not 99.99%, not 99.999, but 100%. Which is why when he comes out of a shot, there is no judgement on me. He will not even check the shot because he knows he has given everything to it. And I will apply that in my future films. Tarak, thank you for teaching me that.”
The film is directed by Ayan Mukherji and is the latest in the YRF Spy Universe, after Tiger movies with Salman Khan, War with Hrithik and Pathaan, starring Shah Rukh Khan. Alpha, with Alia Bhatt and Sharvari is also in the pipeline.