The Indian box office is bracing for a major clash as Rajinikanth's "Coolie" and Hrithik Roshan-Jr NTR's "War 2" are set to hit theaters on August 14, 2025, just ahead of the Independence Day holiday. Both films are generating considerable buzz, but early trends suggest a significant lead for "Coolie" in advance bookings.
"Coolie": A Box Office Storm?
Rajinikanth's "Coolie," directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj, is already making waves with its pre-release business. The film has reportedly crossed ₹100 crore in worldwide gross collections through pre-sales alone, setting a record for a Tamil movie. Within 12 hours of opening bookings, "Coolie" had grossed over ₹88 crore globally. This includes over ₹27 crore in Tamil Nadu and ₹53 crore in India. Overseas, the film has already brought in over ₹35 crore. Some experts predict an opening day collection of ₹150 crore or more, potentially surpassing "Leo" as Kollywood's biggest opener. Sacnilk reports that "Coolie" has surpassed Ram Charan's "Game Changer" to claim the title of 2025's biggest Indian movie opening based on advance booking.
As of August 13, 2025, "Coolie" had locked in over ₹35 crore gross in India and more than ₹45 crore overseas for its opening day. For the opening weekend, the film has already surpassed ₹100 crore in bookings, which is the highest of the year.
The film has also made over ₹250 crore before its release through the sale of international, digital, music, and satellite rights.
"War 2": Riding on Star Power and Spy Universe
"War 2," directed by Ayan Mukerji, is the latest installment in Yash Raj Films' (YRF) Spy Universe and stars Hrithik Roshan, Jr NTR, and Kiara Advani. As of August 13, 2025, the film had sold 4,25,404 tickets, grossing around ₹11.91 crore in advance collections in India. The film saw a massive jump in Telugu states once bookings opened there.
As of 5 PM on August 13, "War 2" had sold over 1.11 lakh tickets in the top three national chains (PVR Inox and Cinepolis) for the opening day alone. The movie is expected to surpass Hrithik Roshan's previous release, "Fighter," in pre-sales but may struggle to cross "Tiger 3".
The Clash and What to Expect
While "War 2" is expected to have a strong opening, it currently lags behind "Coolie" in advance sales. Experts predict "War 2" to open in the vicinity of ₹30 crore to ₹35 crore net in Hindi. War 2 had made ₹11.91 crore gross in advance collections in India as of 1 PM.
Despite the competition, "Coolie" is expected to emerge as a bigger opener, thanks to Rajinikanth's popularity. Trade expert Taran Adarsh notes that "Coolie" has taken a big lead across the globe, with a huge margin in international and domestic sales.
The clash between these two big-budget films is expected to generate a massive ₹52.55 crore in combined advance sales, setting the stage for a blockbuster weekend.
