Border 2 collected Rs. 28 crore nett approx at the Indian box office on its opening day. The first day business is good, having said that, you expect more than just good from a film like Border 2. From advances, the film was expected to cross Rs. 30 crore nett, but in the end, it fell a bit short of that. The film had early morning shows cancelled pretty much across the country due to the late delivery of content, but that didn’t make much of a difference, as it had enough capacity to cover the lost business during the day.
The share of business from the national chains was significantly higher than that of Gadar 2 and Jaat, which might have been because of some adds. It was seen with advances on the final day as well, when national chains moved a lot stronger than the rest, unlike how it usually goes.
The film performed best in the northern circuits of Delhi-UP, East Punjab and Rajasthan. These circuits have traditionally been strongholds for not just Sunny Deol but the entire Deol family. The business here has come in at Rs. 35-40 crore nett all-India ratio level. Delhi-UP, with around Rs. 7.50 crore nett, was the biggest circuit for the film, ahead of Mumbai. This was the case with Gadar 2 and Jaat as well. The Eastern circuits also did well, particularly West Bengal, which is generally not that hot for Deol films. It was a local holiday which aided the business there.
Mumbai and Southern circuits were low, which is again the case usually with Deol films. In Mumbai, it was Gujarat, which was a bit disappointing, as that does well for them and was particularly strong for Gadar 2, but here it was rather ordinary. The Southern circuits, although low, but were on par with Gadar 2, with Mysore coming in higher.
While the expectations from the film were for more, this is still a good position to be in. It is important to contextualise where those expectations were coming from. Sunny Deol, as a box-office entity, had largely been phased out over the past two decades. The blockbuster success of Gadar 2 was a pleasant yet shocking surprise for everyone, including Sunny Deol himself. Had Gadar 2 not existed, these opening numbers for Border 2 would have been viewed with a similar pleasantness. But now that we have the precedent of Gadar 2, they kinda feels low. Ironically, Gadar 2 was underestimated before release, but its success has led to Border 2 being slightly overestimated.
Looking ahead, the film has strong advances today, just slightly lower than the first day. It should see growth in business today and should consolidate on Sunday in the mass circuits. Then there will be a massive national holiday for Republic Day on Monday. Given the patriotic themes of Border 2, they shall fit strongly with the day, and it should be a huge day. The four-day extended weekend should cross Rs. 125 crore nett. It could get closer to Rs. 150 crore nett as well, especially if the Mumbai circuit comes on board over the weekend. That will set the film on its way to be a HIT and higher if it is more like the latter case.