Awarapan 2 had an excellent opening day at the Indian box office, collecting Rs. 22 crore nett approx. This marks the biggest opening ever for an Emraan Hashmi solo lead film, surpassing his previous best of Rs. 11 crore nett by Raaz 3 back in 2012. The film performed best in the Hindi belt, with Delhi-UP leading the way, which is normally the case with films in this space. Mumbai also put up strong numbers, with West Bengal surprisingly amongst the top-performing markets.
The way the film started in the morning, it seemed poised for a Rs. 20 crore nett opening day. However, there was concern that the less-than-optimal release may prove to be a hurdle, but the film, benefiting from a big holiday the next day, recorded BUMPER numbers across night shows, pushing it over the Rs. 20 crore nett mark and then some more. Today is a big day for the box office, on the occasion of Independence Day. While the advances aren’t that high from the opening day for the film, the current should compensate for that, and it could push towards the Rs. 30 crore nett mark.
Regardless of what happens today, the film is a HIT on arrival and can only go higher from here. Made on a controlled budget, the recoveries are already handsome, and the box office has also got off to a fantastic start. The film should, at the very least, record a weekend of Rs. 75 crore nett, which is a staggering number for a film of this size.
Awarapan 2 is a sequel to the 2007 film, which was a DISASTER upon its original release but later garnered a cult following. When intense love stories with hit music found success last year, it reminded the industry of Emraan Hashmi, who had delivered several films in this space during the 2000s and early 2010s. He was at the peak of his career in the early 2010s with films like Murder 2, Raaz 3, Jannat 2, and Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai, before his fortunes declined through the latter half of the decade. The revival of the genre eventually led to Awarapan 2 being made, and that decision has paid off handsomely. There is probably no precedent for a sequel to a DISASTER emerging as a HIT, perhaps even a blockbuster. Last year saw former FLOPs like Sanam Teri Kasam and Laila Majnu become HITs through their re-releases, and now a sequel is doing it on a much bigger scale.
DISCLAIMER: The box office figures, opening-day forecasts, and lifetime collection projections mentioned in this article are subjective trade estimates compiled from various commercial parameters, advance trends, and market sentiment. These are purely analytical tracking figures and do not constitute actual, finalised collections or certified accounting statements.
