Emraan Hashmi’s Awarapan 2 is heading for a strong box-office opening, with advance bookings for the sequel already surpassing the lifetime domestic collection of the original Awarapan.
The film, scheduled to release Friday, has generated significant pre-release interest despite advance bookings opening only about 48 hours before its theatrical debut.
By 3 p.m. Thursday, Awarapan 2 had sold more than 1.3 lakh tickets for its opening day, according to figures cited by Hindustan Times. Sacnilk data indicated that opening-day advance ticket sales had reached approximately ₹4 crore.
Trade estimates put total advance bookings for the opening weekend and later shows at more than ₹9 crore gross, or roughly ₹7-8 crore net.
Those figures have already overtaken the entire theatrical run of the first Awarapan, which earned approximately ₹7.7 crore net after its release in 2007.
The original Awarapan, produced by Vishesh Films and starring Emraan Hashmi, struggled commercially when it first arrived in theatres.
It collected approximately ₹79 lakh on its opening day and ₹2.88 crore during its first weekend before ending its theatrical run with around ₹7.7 crore net.
Despite its initial box-office performance, the film developed a strong following in subsequent years as audiences discovered it through home media, television and streaming platforms.
That cult status is now contributing to substantial anticipation surrounding the sequel nearly two decades later.
Early trade projections suggest Awarapan 2 could deliver one of Bollywood’s biggest openings of 2026.
The film is also being tipped to potentially register the biggest opening day of Emraan Hashmi’s career, with estimates suggesting collections could approach ₹20 crore on Friday.
With more than one lakh opening-day tickets already sold ahead of release, the sequel is positioned for a dramatically stronger theatrical start than its 2007 predecessor.
