Aug 11, 2026 1:34pm IST
‘Awarapan 2’ and ‘Batwara 1947’ Box Office Prediction: Emraan Hashmi and Sunny Deol’s Films Rely On Word-of-Mouth
The Independence Day weekend is set to witness two Hindi films - “Awarapan 2” and “Batwara 1947” - trying to cash in on the national holiday period. While the Emraan Hashmi-starrer is a sequel to the 2007 film that enjoys a cult following, Sunny Deol’s period drama promises commercial elements along with massy dialogues and action sequences. However, both films will rely heavily on word-of-mouth, which will come into play after the morning shows of their opening day.
According to the movie analytics platform Recobee, anticipation around both films is currently moderate. While “Awarapan 2” is expected to open at ₹12 crore, “Batwara 1947” is projected to collect ₹4 crore. However, the numbers for the Sunny Deol-starrer can see a significant jump as his films often rely on spot bookings, especially in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, which have a huge number of single screens.
Related Stories
While the battle between the two films looks tight and interesting, Sunny Deol might have an edge due to his recent successes with “Border 2,” “Jaat” and “Gadar 2” (also released during the Independence weekend in 2023).
“Batwara 1947” reunites Sunny Deol with director Rajkumar Santoshi after “Ghayal,” “Damini” and “Ghatak.” Produced by Aamir Khan under the banner of Aamir Khan Productions, it also features Preity Zinta, Shabana Azmi, Karan Deol, Ali Fazal, Abhimanyu Singh, Khushi Hajare and Kanikka Kapur. Based on Asghar Wajahat’s drama “Jis Lahore Nai Vekhya, O Jamya E Nai,” the film’s music is composed by AR Rahman with lyrics by Javed Akhtar.
On the other hand, “Awarapan 2” is directed by Nitin Kakkar of “Jawaani Jaaneman,” “Filmistan” and “Notebook” fame. It also stars Shabana Azmi, Disha Patani and Suvinder Pal Vicky in pivotal roles. The songs are composed by Mithoon, Amaal Mallik, Jeet Gannguli, Akhil Sachdeva and Wasif Ahmad, with score by Raju Singh.
Comments are moderated. They may be edited for clarity and reprinting in whole or in part in Variety publications.