Why is Hrithik Roshan, Jr NTR’s War 2 declared a flop despite earning ₹365 crore, selling 1.2 crore tickets | Explained
Updated on: Oct 23, 2025 10:51 am IST
War 2 ended its theatrical run, earning ₹365 crore worldwide, and selling an estimated 1.2 crore tickets in India alone. Yet, the Hrithik, NTR film is a flop.
With its Netflix release, the theatrical run of YRF Spy Universe film War 2 has come to an end. The ambitious pan-India spy thriller, headlined by Hrithik Roshan and Jr NTR, was released in theatres on 14 August over the Independence Day weekend. And while it enjoyed a bumper start, the collections soon dwindled at the box office. Now, when the film’s final collections are out, its verdict has also been declared. And to the dismay of the makers, War 2 is a flop. We explain how.
War 2 final box office collection
War 2 ran in theatres for a little over five weeks, just before it released on OTT earlier this month. In that time, it earned ₹236 crore net in India. This included an underwhelming ₹178 crore in Hindi and a disastrous ₹57 crore net in Telugu. Clearly, Jr NTR’s star power did not carry the film in the Telugu states to the extent the makers would have wanted. Overseas, too, War 2 fared rather badly, ending up with under $10 million in the international territories. This made the overall worldwide collections of the film at ₹365 crore. According to Sacnilk, War 2 sold 1.2 crore tickets domestically. Trade pundits estimate the film sold over 2 million tickets in the overseas markets as well.
War 2 box office verdict
Yet, Sacnilk declared the film a flop in its verdict of War 2’s box office run. This is largely because of the film’s high landing cost and scale in comparison with other big releases. As per sources, War 2 had a landing cost of ₹400 crore, which meant that it needed to gross over ₹650-700 crore worldwide to be a box office success. However, in the end, the film managed just about half of that. It should also be noted that while the 1.2 crore footfalls may appear high, War 2 is the least-watched film in the YRF Spy Universe, and also among the lowest-grossing. It performed worse than even the subpar Tiger 3, which earned ₹470 crore worldwide in 2023.
The biggest indictment for War 2 is how it did not even manage to touch the lofty standards set by War, which had earned ₹475 crore in 2019. Even the addition of Telugu superstar Jr NTR did not help the film’s fortunes. That it ended up collecting less than ₹100 crore in the southern states meant it flopped badly across India.
All about War 2
Directed by Ayan Mukerji, War 2 also starred Kiara Advani and Anil Kapoor in pivotal roles. The film is a direct sequel to War and also a part of the larger YRF Spy Universe. Its post-credits scene sets up the next instalment of the franchise – Alpha. The all-female-led spy thriller stars Alia Bhatt and Sharvari, and will release in December.
