Rajinikanth, Hrithik Roshan, and Jr NTR's movies Coolie and War 2 have been released, sparking debates in the film industry. Let's see who takes the lead in the intense battle between these stars.
In a clash of two of the year's most anticipated blockbusters, Coolie and War 2 have hit theatres across the country, leaving audiences and industry analysts eagerly awaiting the final box office numbers.
Coolie, starring Rajinikanth, Nagarjuna, Aamir Khan, Upendra, Sathyaraj, and Soubin Shahir, has been making headlines for its impressive box office performance. The film, directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj, marks Rajinikanth's 50th year in cinema and has broken records, becoming the first Tamil film to cross USD 2 million in US advance bookings.
In India, Coolie had a very strong initial box office performance. The film recorded advance bookings surpassing Rs 100 crore for its opening weekend and sold more than 12 lakh tickets on day one. Domestically, it made ₹194.50 crore net in its opening weekend and reached ₹235 crore net (₹281 crore gross) in 9 days. Its worldwide gross crossed ₹450 crore by day 9 and is approaching ₹500 crore, making it one of the highest-grossing Tamil films of all time and a major success for Rajinikanth.
Audience reactions were mixed to positive. There was huge pre-release hype and a sensational opening, but word-of-mouth was reportedly mixed, causing some drop after the initial surge. Despite this, it maintained enough momentum to be a hit.
On the other hand, War 2, starring Hrithik Roshan and Jr NTR, has not been as successful in the initial days. The film has secured approximately Rs 10 crore in advance bookings in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana before tickets went live, but its opening day bookings in the Telugu markets sold fewer tickets than Coolie. While specific detailed numbers for War 2's initial box office are not provided, it is clear that War 2 had weaker performance comparatively, with Coolie "winning the clash" at the box office.
Hrithik Roshan posted a warm tribute to Rajinikanth on social media, referencing their shared screen time at the start of his career. Despite the mixed reactions to both films, industry watchers and analysts predict a record-breaking run at the box office for both films, thanks to the extended festive weekend.
As the final verdict on the films' performance will be determined by the final box office numbers, audiences and industry professionals alike are keeping a close eye on the box office race between Coolie and War 2. For now, Coolie leads the pack, with its impressive box office numbers and star-studded cast making it one of the biggest blockbusters of 2025.
The finance industry is closely monitoring the box office race between the films Coolie and War 2, with the former exhibiting a strong initial performance and breaking records, such as becoming the first Tamil film to cross USD 2 million in US advance bookings. On the other hand, War 2's initial box office numbers have been weaker compared to Coolie, making the Defi of these two highly anticipated movies a major talking point in the entertainment and movies-and-tv markets.
