War 2 Opening Day (Day 1) Early Estimates: Hrithik Roshan, Jr. NTR-starrer Underperforms At The Box Office
Mumbai, August 14 - Hrithik Roshan and Jr. NTR-fronted spy action thriller has opened to lower-than-expected numbers in the Hindi version, and is in real danger of scoring the lowest opening of YRF's Spy Universe, according to early estimates. ## Despite massive buzz, a holiday period, and being part of YRF's successful Spy Universe, the film is estimated to have collected 29-31 crore net in Hindi on its opening day. If the estimates hold, it will be the lowest debut in Spy Universe, behind Ek Tha Tiger, which opened to around 33 crores net in 2012.## Trade analysts were expecting the film to debut closer to the last Spy Universe film, Tiger 3 (43 crores net) or even higher, given the scale, star power, and pre-release marketing push. However, mixed factors such as competition from Rajinikanth's Coolie in southern markets, and slightly cautious audience reception seem to have impacted its performance. ## While the Hindi version has underperformed compared to expectations, the film is seemingly performing much stronger in the Telugu version, thanks to Jr. NTR's massive fan base. The total India gross for Day 1 is expected to be higher once all language versions are accounted for, as estimates suggest 60+ crores gross. ## With the Independence Day holiday boost and the weekend ahead, War 2 still has a chance to recover ground. Interestingly, the film has much better ratings than Coolie on BookMyShow and Google, so the hope is still there for a turnaround if those ratings turn into footfalls. ## Stay tuned...