Lights, Camera, Scoop: Sunny Deol's 'Border 2' Beats 'Dhurandhar' at Box-Office; Midnight Shows Added After Morning Glitch
The Hollywood Reporter India's weekly column 'Lights, Camera, Scoop' unravels the behind-the-scenes madness of the big Bollywood machinery.
Actor Sunny Deol's Border 2 has roared into theatres with the strongest Hindi opening since 2025, recording an estimated ₹30 crore-plus on day one. The figure comfortably surpasses the opening day of Ranveer Singh’s Dhurandhar, which clocked around ₹28 crore on its first outing last month.
Border 2 has opened on expected trade projections, which had pegged an opening day of ₹30 to 35 crore. The film's day one haul also edges out titles like Chhaava (which opened around ₹31 crore last year).
While the opening day sets the film strong for the weekend, it narrowly trails behind the opening day of Sunny Deol’s Gadar 2 from 2023, which netted around ₹38 crore despite a clash with OMG 2. Both Gadar and Border were blockbusters for their time; however, as trade puts it, the former was a bigger cultural phenomenon with its iconic dialogues, sweeping India-Pakistan drama and deep emotional roots.
Comparisons aside, Border 2 has audience reception on its side as the target group of the film has been responding well to the film. The word of mouth, paired with the Republic Day weekend, sets the film up for a projected ₹130 to ₹150 crore extended opening weekend run, a healthy trajectory for a patriotic war saga released in the holiday window.
But the film’s release wasn’t without hiccups: morning shows in some centres were cancelled due to a last-minute technical snag that delayed rollout, prompting exhibitors to reschedule. Later, the makers announced rolling out midnight shows in select cities this weekend.
Also starring Varun Dhawan, Diljit Dosanjh and Ahan Shetty, Border 2 is inspired by the true events of the 1971 India-Pakistan War. The film is directed by Anurag Singh, who had also helmed the critically acclaimed Punjab 1984 starring Dosanjh and then Akshay Kumar-led war drama Kesari.
The film is a sequel to the 1997 war epic Border, which was directed by JP Dutta. Set during the India–Pakistan war of 1971, the film was based on the events of the Battle of Longewala. Border 2 also stars Mona Singh, Medha Rana, Sonam Bajwa and Anyaa Singh.