War 2 was meant to be the crown jewel of the Yash Raj Films Spy Universe — the costliest project yet, releasing in the Independence Day week with sky-high expectations.
It also carried the weight of Jr NTR’s much-hyped Bollywood debut after RRR. But none of this saved the Ayan Mukerji directorial, which has stumbled badly after its opening weekend.
The film opened big at ₹52 crore on August 14 and managed ₹174 crore in its first weekend. But by its first Monday, the free fall began, with collections dipping into single digits. By the second Sunday, it had crashed to ₹6.50 crore, according to Sacnilk.
Despite its glossy action set-pieces, War 2 has been slammed for a wafer-thin plot and underwhelming villains. Occupancy figures tell the story: Hindi (20.65%), Tamil (35.45%), and Telugu (20.68%).
Within just 11 days, the film has lost more than half its shows — down to 2,963 across India (434 in Mumbai, 734 in Delhi-NCR), from its day-one count of 6,257.
At the domestic box office, the film has crawled to ₹221 crore, while its worldwide total has reportedly just crossed ₹300 crore. But with a staggering ₹400 crore budget, it’s far from breaking even.
The disappointment is even starker when compared to its predecessor. War (2019), made for ₹150 crore, had opened at ₹53 crore and went on to collect ₹471 crore worldwide.
That film, helmed by Siddharth Anand, paired Hrithik Roshan with Tiger Shroff in a blockbuster outing. War 2, meanwhile, is Mukerji’s first stab at action after films like Brahmāstra, Wake Up Sid, and Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani.
Alongside Hrithik Roshan and NTR Jr, the film also stars Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana, and Anil Kapoor. But star power and spectacle couldn’t hide the cracks.
For YRF’s spy universe, War 2 is shaping up to be its most expensive misfire yet.
