The Independence Eve of 2025 witnessed a major clash at the box office, with Hrithik Roshan and Jr NTR’s ‘War 2’ competing against Rajinikanth’s ‘Coolie’. Both films, highly anticipated releases, drew large audiences and achieved impressive financial figures, establishing themselves as two of the year’s biggest successes. Following a strong opening weekend, both movies experienced a decline in weekday earnings, yet still managed to surpass the Rs 200 crore mark within their first week. Early estimates from Day 8 offer further insight into the ongoing competition as the films enter their second weekend.
‘War 2’ experienced a powerful debut. Day 1 saw the film collect Rs 52 crore, which was followed by a more lucrative Day 2, grossing Rs 57.85 crore, reflecting an 11.25% increase. However, collections decreased on Day 3 to Rs 33.25 crore and slightly further on Day 4 to Rs 32.65 crore, resulting in an extended weekend total of approximately Rs 176 crore. There was a significant drop on Day 5, earning just Rs 8.75 crore (down 73.20%), but the film saw a minor recovery on Day 6 with Rs 9 crore, and Rs 5.75 crore on Day 7.
Day 8 estimates place the earnings at Rs 5 crore. This brings the film’s total to Rs 204.25 crore across all languages in eight days. Despite the post-weekend drop, ‘War 2’ has successfully exceeded the Rs 200 crore milestone in its first week.
‘War 2’, a sequel to the 2019 blockbuster ‘War’, was released on August 14, 2025. It sees Hrithik Roshan reprise his role as Agent Kabir after a six-year hiatus. NTR Jr. joins the franchise as Agent Vikram. Anil Kapoor and Ashutosh Rana also feature in key roles.
Rajinikanth’s ‘Coolie’ had a blockbuster opening week. The film launched with a massive Rs 65 crore on Day 1, with Tamil Nadu contributing Rs 44.5 crore, the Hindi version earning Rs 4.5 crore, Telugu Rs 15.5 crore, and Kannada Rs 0.5 crore. Day 2 saw a 15.77% drop, earning Rs 54.75 crore, followed by Rs 39.5 crore on Day 3 and Rs 35.25 crore on Day 4, taking the extended weekend earnings to over Rs 194 crore. The film then witnessed the typical Monday drop with Rs 12 crore, which further decreased to Rs 9.5 crore on Day 6 and Rs 7.5 crore on Day 7.
The film added approximately Rs 6.25 crore on Day 8 (early estimates), pushing its 8-day total to Rs 229.75 crore across all languages. Despite significant drops following its opening weekend, ‘Coolie’ has proven to be a major success, crossing the Rs 200 crore mark within its first week.
The plot of ‘Coolie’ revolves around Deva, a former gold smuggler turned coolie. He aims to reclaim his former glory by reviving his old gang with stolen technology hidden in vintage golden watches, which leads to unforeseen consequences.
The film also stars Soubin Shahir, Upendra, Sathyaraj, Shruti Haasan, Rachita Ram, Reba Monica John, Junior MGR, Kanna Ravi, Monisha Blessy, and Kaali Venkat. Aamir Khan has a cameo role. It is produced by Kalanithi Maran under Sun Pictures.
