In less than a week, the most prestigious Bollywood film of the year, War 2, will be released. The movie marks the coming together of NTR and Hrithik Roshan. YRF has indeed pulled off a casting coup for this spy thriller directed by Ayan Mukerji. The advance bookings will open tomorrow in India, and according to an exclusive report in Bollywood Hungama, War 2 makers are going the Pushpa 2 way by adapting a mega blockbuster pricing (premium pricing) strategy.
The report mentioned, “YRF has asked cinemas to go for mega blockbuster pricing for War 2. They feel it is justified since it is a highly anticipated film and one of the biggest films to release in India across languages and industries in 2025. The cinemas have also agreed with the directive as they are confident that there is going to be heavy demand for the film due to its casting, mass appeal, extended holiday period, and the popularity of the YRF Spy Universe.”
It was further reported that War 2 ticket rates will be in the same bracket as Allu Arjun’s Pushpa 2: The Rule. This seems to be a highly risky move from YRF. There is definitely excitement around War 2, but not on the same level as Pushpa 2. When the advance bookings opened for Pushpa 2, the response was earth-shattering since the Allu Arjun starrer was the most anticipated film for the Hindi audience during its release.
Coming to War 2, the sequel is facing massive competition from Rajinikanth’s Coolie. The latter is already leading by a huge margin in overseas advances, and the momentum is expected to be the same in India too. Coolie’s revenue in India will be mainly driven by South markets, but with the ensemble star cast including Aamir Khan, the action drama can also earn good bucks in the Hindi market.
If War 2’s content doesn’t meet expectations, the mega blockbuster pricing can very much work against the film and open doors to Rajini’s film in the Hindi heartland. YRF seems to be highly confident in War 2’s output, and let’s see if their risk will be rewarding.