Director Ayan Mukerji’s much-anticipated spy thriller, War 2, featuring Hrithik Roshan and Jr NTR, gears up for its theatrical release tomorrow on August 14, coinciding with the eve of Independence Day.

Advance booking data indicates that War 2 may struggle to match the opening day collections of its competition. In particular, the Tamil crime thriller Coolie, directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj and starring Rajinikanth, has created strong buzz. In comparison, Siddharth Anand’s first War installment opened with impressive earnings of Rs 53.35 crore in India.

While Hrithik Roshan and Ashutosh Rana reprise their roles in the sequel, viewers will also enjoy performances from Jr NTR and Kiara Advani, who plays Hrithik’s new love interest. Notably, this film marks Ayan Mukerji’s first venture outside Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions, as it receives backing from Aditya Chopra’s Yash Raj Films.

As of Wednesday morning, industry analysts estimate War 2 will debut with a collection of approximately Rs 18.37 crore in India on its opening day. This figure includes Rs 8.34 crore from block bookings. The bulk of the remaining revenue is expected to come from the Hindi version, with projected earnings of Rs 6 crore across various formats, including 2D, IMAX 2D, 4DX, ICE, and DOLBY CINE. The advance bookings for the Hindi version commenced last weekend.

In Hyderabad and Telangana, advance bookings for the Telugu-speaking audience kicked off only on Tuesday, a day later than scheduled due to a pending state government order about ticket price adjustments. Once ticket sales began in these states, they soared, with 20,000 tickets sold per hour, according to Sacnilk.

As of now, the dubbed Telugu version of War 2 has garnered around Rs 3.5 crore, thanks to its showings in 2D, IMAX 2D, and 4DX formats. The film’s Telugu sales benefit greatly from Jr NTR’s presence as the main antagonist. On the other hand, the Tamil dubbed version has captured just a minor share, standing at Rs 10 lakh.

War 2 faces tough competition, and it likely won’t secure the title of the biggest opener in India this week. Lokesh Kanagaraj’s Coolie, boasting advance sales of Rs 30 crore domestically across various versions, seems to have the advantage. Additionally, Coolie leads worldwide ticket sales with Rs 75 crore, compared to War 2’s less than Rs 50 crore.