Border 2 Advance Booking Opens with Strong Numbers, Sets Stage for Box Office Clash
The much-anticipated multi-starrer Border 2, featuring Bollywood actor Sunny Deol, has officially opened its advance booking worldwide, setting the stage for a high-stakes box office clash with the competing film Dhurandhar. According to industry reports, the war drama is predicted to have a larger opening than its rival, generating significant buzz among cinema enthusiasts.
Day 1 Advance Booking Figures Reveal Strong Performance
As per data from the industry tracker Sacnilk, Border 2 has demonstrated a robust grip across India on its first day of advance booking. The film registered a gross collection of ₹5.94 crore solely from ticket sales. The bulk of these earnings came from the Hindi 2D format, which contributed an impressive ₹5.93 crore to the total.
The sequel to the iconic 1997 blockbuster has sold approximately 1.85 lakh tickets across 14,010 shows, with an average ticket price of ₹263. However, the 4DX format saw limited traction, adding only ₹27,624 from 56 tickets across 44 shows. Notably, Dolby Cinema bookings remained nil, as reported by Sacnilk.
When considering block seats, the advance booking gross for Border 2 jumps significantly to ₹10.28 crore, indicating strong corporate and group bookings that could boost its opening day performance.
Border 2 vs Dhurandhar: A Tight Race at the Box Office
Despite its strong start, Border 2 is currently trailing behind Dhurandhar in advance booking numbers. Dhurandhar posted an advance booking gross of ₹9.23 crore on its first day, driven by ₹8.78 crore from 2.55 lakh tickets across 14,549 shows. With block seats included, its total swelled to ₹14 crore, which translated to a net opening day business of ₹28 crore.
However, Border 2 still has one full day remaining to build on its ticket sales, and recent trends suggest it is gaining momentum. A report by Hindustan Times indicates that the film is currently selling close to 4,000 tickets per hour on BookMyShow as of Thursday morning, marking a 100 per cent jump compared to Tuesday. Pre-sales are expected to cross the ₹10 crore mark by midnight on the final day of advance booking.
The same report projects that the war drama could open at around ₹32–35 crore net in India, which would represent a strong start for Sunny Deol, especially considering his previous release Jaat opened at only ₹9 crore.
Controversy: Border 2 Reportedly Banned in Gulf Countries
In a significant development, a report by Bollywood Hungama claims that the release of Border 2 has been blocked in several Gulf countries due to perceived 'anti-Pakistan' content. The affected nations reportedly include:
- Bahrain
- Kuwait
- Oman
- Qatar
- Saudi Arabia
- United Arab Emirates
The report quotes a source stating, "By now, it's given that films which are perceived as having 'anti-Pakistan' content don’t get a release in this belt. Yet, the team of Border 2 did make an attempt and sadly, their attempts proved futile. One day is left for release and the hope is still there that they pass the film, though the possibility seems remote."
This potential ban could impact the film's international earnings, though the domestic box office performance remains the primary focus for the producers.
As the release date approaches, all eyes are on whether Border 2 can leverage its advance booking momentum to overtake Dhurandhar and deliver a blockbuster opening for Sunny Deol and the cast.
