This weekend marks a significant cinematic clash as two highly anticipated films, Emraan Hashmi’s “Awarapan 2” and Sunny Deol’s historical drama “Batwara 1947,” vie for dominance at the box office. Early indications from advance booking figures reveal a clear frontrunner. As both movies debut in cinemas today, reports from Sacnilk unequivocally position “Awarapan 2” as having significantly stronger pre-sales compared to the Deol-starrer.
“Awarapan 2,” the much-awaited sequel to the critically acclaimed 2007 film “Awarapan,” has generated substantial buzz leading up to its release, largely due to Emraan Hashmi’s reprisal of his beloved character, Shivam. This anticipation has translated directly into impressive advance ticket sales.
Initial estimates indicate that “Awarapan 2” secured approximately Rs 8.57 crore in gross advance bookings for its opening day across the three major multiplex chains. When factoring in blocked seats, the film’s total advance-booking gross has comfortably surpassed the Rs 10 crore threshold. Projections suggest that the final advance booking tally for “Awarapan 2” will reach around Rs 11.36 crore. This figure could potentially increase further with last-minute spot bookings and positive word-of-mouth once the film is released. The robust pre-sales performance of “Awarapan 2” places it ahead of several recent Hindi releases, including “Housefull 5,” “Shaitaan,” and “Raid 2,” in terms of total advance booking volume.
In contrast, “Batwara 1947,” featuring Sunny Deol in the leading role, is also set for its theatrical premiere, but its advance booking numbers are considerably lower. The historical drama has registered an estimated Rs 1.76 crore in gross advance bookings for its opening day. Including blocked seats, this figure climbs to an estimated Rs 4.21 crore. This places “Batwara 1947” significantly behind “Awarapan 2” in terms of reported pre-release ticket sales.
Both films will also encounter stiff competition from several major Hollywood releases making their way to Indian screens this weekend. These include high-profile titles such as Tom Holland’s “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” and Anne Hathaway’s “The End Of Oak Street.” The battle for audience attention in the entertainment sector this weekend promises to be an engaging one.
