Aug 14, 2026 10:00pm IST
‘Awarapan 2’ vs ‘Batwara 1947’ vs ‘Vishwanath and Sons’ Clash at the Box Office on Independence Day; Here’s A Look at the Highest Grossers on August 15
The Independence Day weekend has always been one of the most lucrative windows for Indian cinema, and multiple films often compete for screens across the country. The national holiday (August 15) often drives a spike in theatrical footfalls over the Independence Day weekend.
With three big films, “Awarapan 2,” “Batwara 1947” and “Vishwanath and Sons,” locking horns at the box office this weekend, here’s a look at the biggest August 15 grossers in Indian cinema.
2025: War 2” and “Coolie”
Combined Collections: ₹112.60 crore
The Indian film industry recorded its biggest Independence Day haul in 2025, with Hrithik Roshan-Jr NTR’s “War 2” contributing ₹57.85 crore and Rajinikanth-starrer “Coolie” adding ₹54.75 crore. While the YRF Spy Universe film underperformed at the box office, the Lokesh Kanagaraj directorial also fell short of expectations given its budget and scale.
2023: “Gadar 2,” “Jailer” and “OMG 2”
Combined Collections: ₹109 crore
In 2023, three films’ solid pull helped them cross the ₹100 crore mark on August 15. Sunny Deol’s “Gadar 2” contributed a major chunk with ₹55.40 crore, followed by Rajinikanth’s “Jailer” at ₹36.50 crore and Akshay Kumar’s “OMG 2” at ₹17.10 crore.
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2024: “Stree 2,” “Double iSmart,” “Vedaa” and “Khel Khel Mein”
Combined Collections: ₹70.50 crore
The 2024 Independence Day box office was dominated by Rajkummar Rao and Shraddha Kapoor’s horror-comedy “Stree 2,” which raked in ₹55.40 crore. The remaining releases contributed comparatively smaller shares, with “Double iSmart” collecting ₹7.35 crore, followed by “Vedaa” at ₹6.30 crore and “Khel Khel Mein” at ₹5.05 crore.
2022: “Karthikeya 2” and “Raksha Bandhan”
Combined collections: ₹21.47 crore
In 2022, Independence Day at the box office was a dull affair as major Hindi films failed to draw audiences to theatres. While Aamir Khan’s "Laal Singh Chaddha" collected ₹7.87 crore, Nikhil Siddhartha’s “Karthikeya 2” clocked in ₹7.29 crore and Akshay Kumar’s “Raksha Bandhan” earned ₹6.31 crore.
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