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'Coolie' vs 'War 2' Box Office Day 1: Rajinikanth Leads With ₹151 Crores Global Gross; Hrithik Roshan-JR NTR Underwhelm With ₹80 Crore
Both titles received mixed reviews, with word of mouth affecting their box-office momentum, specifically 'War 2'
The highly anticipated box-office battle between Superstar Rajinikanth's Coolie and Hrithik Roshan-JR NTR's War 2 finally kicked off on Thursday, and the results were on expected lines of some old records tumbling and, in some cases, expectations crashing down.
Both titles received mixed reviews, with word of mouth especially affecting the box-office momentum of War 2 on opening day. The latest sequel in Yash Raj Films' Spy Universe saw a considerable impact on its collections due to lukewarm audience feedback, as it registered the lowest opening day in the franchise's history.
Directed by Ayan Mukerji, in his first action spectacle since 2022's Brahamastra, War 2 released in over 5000 screens across India. Despite being one of the widest releases ever, the film couldn't capitalise on the franchise value and debuted with a day one all-India net collection of ₹51.5 crore, including Hindi, Telugu, and Tamil language versions.
According to industry tracker Sacnilk, the Hindi language collections of War 2 were ₹29 crore net— the lowest in the Spy Universe, which includes Shah Rukh Khan's Pathaan (Hindi day one ₹55 crore), War (₹53 crore), and Salman Khan's three Tiger franchise films: Tiger 3 (₹44 crore), Tiger Zinda Hai (₹34 crore) and Ek Tha Tiger, which, in 2012, had a day one of ₹32 crore.
The Telugu collections from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana contributed nearly ₹22.25 crore, thanks to JR NTR's massive star power in the region. However, the numbers were still below the Hindi net. Globally, War 2 has clocked in around ₹80 crore gross, falling short of initial trade expectations of crossing at least ₹100 crore.
When it comes to the Tamil-language action-thriller Coolie, the Lokesh Kanagaraj directorial had a blockbuster start, setting new records, especially in its home state, Tamil Nadu. According to the industry tracker, Coolie registered an all-India net collection of ₹65 crore, delivering on the sensational pre-release hype it was carrying.
The film's Tamil version alone netted ₹44.5 crore, with the Telugu-language version adding ₹15.5 crore. Despite a limited release in North India due to the release of War 2, the Hindi version still managed to collect around ₹4.5 crore net.
The mixed reviews didn't deter Rajinikanth's loyal fanbase globally as Coolie made history by becoming the highest day-one grosser for a Tamil film worldwide, raking in over ₹151 crore. The figure includes ₹76 crore from overseas markets, equivalent to USD 8.5 million. With this, Coolie has broken the previous record held by actor Vijay's 2023 blockbuster Leo, which collected ₹144 crore globally on day one.
With the Independence Day holiday boosting collections, both Coolie and War 2 would now hope to capitalise on the extended weekend. Though the audience reception is not on their side, Coolie and War 2 would at least aim to record decent jumps for a good four-day holiday weekend total.