War 2 Cast, Box Office Collection, Budget, Release Date, Hit or Flop
War 2 is Indian Hindi action thriller film directed by Ayan Mukerji and produced by Aditya Chopra under Yash Raj Films. Sridhar Raghavan and Abbas Tyrewala wrote the script based on Chopra’s story. It is a sequel to YRF Spy Universe and War (2019). The film stars Hrithik Roshan, N. T. Rama Rao Jr. and Kiara Advani in the lead roles, with Ashutosh Rana and Anil Kapoor also in pivotal roles.
The film began shooting in October 2023. The makers shot most of the scenes in Mumbai, with some shooting taking place in Spain, Italy and Abu Dhabi. Pritam composed the lyrics, while Sanchit Balhara and Ankit Balhara composed the background score. With a budget of around ₹400 crore, it is one of the most expensive Indian films ever made.
War 2 will be released worldwide on 14 August 2025, the Indian Independence Day weekend, specifically in IMAX, D-Box, ICE, 4DX, Dolby Cinema and other top formats.
Brief Overview of War 2
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Ayan Mukerji |
| Screenplay by | Shridhar Raghavan |
| Dialogues by | Abbas Tyrewala |
| Story by | Aditya Chopra |
| Produced by | Aditya Chopra |
| Starring | Hrithik Roshan, N. T. Rama Rao Jr., Kiara Advani |
| Cinematography | Benjamin Jasper |
| Edited by | Aarif Sheikh |
| Music by (Songs) | Pritam |
| Music by (Score) | Sanchit Balhara, Ankit Balhara |
| Production company | Yash Raj Films |
| Distributed by | Yash Raj Films |
| Release date | 14 August 2025 |
| Running time | 173 minutes |
| Country | India |
Cast And Crew
| Actor/Actress | Role |
|---|---|
| Hrithik Roshan | Major Kabir Dhaliwal (Kaboo) |
| Manthan Darji | Young Kabir |
| N. T. Rama Rao Jr. | Major Vikram Chelapathi (Raghu) |
| Hearty Singh | Young Vikram (Raghu) |
| Kiara Advani | Wing Commander Kavya Luthra, Sunil Luthra’s daughter |
| Ashutosh Rana | Colonel Sunil Luthra |
| Anil Kapoor | Vikrant Kaul, Chief of RAW |
| Varun Badola | Defence Minister Vilasrao Sarang |
| Arista Mehta | Ruhi Sahni, Kabir’s adoptive daughter |
| K. C. Shankar | Gautam Gulati, Kali Head (India) |
| Reshma Bombaywala | The Contractor |
| Vijay Vikram Singh | Military Officer |
| Karan Kishore | Karan, a RAW agent |
| Imroz Maur | Imroz, a RAW agent |
| Anupam Bhattacharya | Naval Commander |
| Dumani | Michael Barbossa |
| Benedict Garett | Alexis |
| Hardip Dhupia | Captain Bakshi |
| Ajit Koshy | General Kazi |
| Hidayat Sami | Kali Head (Pakistan) |
| Cesar Raton | Kali Head (Russia) |
| Nelson Liao | Kali Head (China) |
| Madhuri Bhatia | Kali Head (Bangladesh) |
| Hemant Mahaur | Kali Head (Sri Lanka) |
| Anil Rai | Kali Head (Myanmar) |
| Kwon Soon Young | Japanese Mob Boss |
| Soni Razdan | Nafisa Rahmani, Khalid’s mother (cameo) |
| Tiger Shroff | Captain Khalid Rahmani (archival footage) |
| Vaani Kapoor | Naina Sahni (archival footage) |
| Bobby Deol | Cameo appearance |
Plot
In New Delhi, Major Kabir Dhaliwal is assigned to kill Iraqi terrorist Farid Haqqani, but instead shoots RAW agent V. K. Naidu and calls himself a bad guy. Defense Minister Sherna Patel and Colonel Sunil Luthra send Captain Khalid Rahmani, Kabir’s old student, to stop him.
In a flashback, Khalid Rahmani wants to join Kabir’s team but is initially rejected because his father, Major Abdul Rahmani, betrayed the army in a previous mission, in which Kabir was shot twice and his companion died. After Luthra talks to him, Kabir remains friendly but allows Khalid to join. The agents on the team are Saurabh, Pratik, Muthu, and Aditi.
The team completes a mission in Tikrit, Iraq, in which Haqqani men are killed and terrorist Bashir Hasib is captured, who brings their main target, terrorist-turned-businessman Rizwan Ilyasi, out of hiding. Even after the victory, Kabir notices that Khalid has missed a shot in his right side and has poor vision. Kabir warns him that he may kick him out of the team. Khalid says that the bullying at school started because of his father’s betrayal, which has made his vision poor. Seeing his love for his mother and country, Kabir trusts him again.
They capture Ilyasi in Marrakesh, where Ilyasi tells Kabir that there is a traitor in the team. Saurabh poses as the traitor and kills Pratik and Muthu. A fight breaks out between Kabir and one of Ilyasi’s men. Kabir is shot in the neck and wakes up in the hospital a few days later. There, an injured Khalid says that he killed Saurabh.
War 2 Budget & Collection
| Day | Karnataka | APTG | Tamil Nadu | Kerala | Rest Of India | Day Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 [1st Thursday] | ₹ 4 Cr | ₹ 27 Cr | ₹ 1.1 Cr | ₹ 0.5 Cr | ₹ 30 Cr | ₹ 62.6 Cr |
| Day 2 [1st Friday] | ₹ 4.6 Cr | ₹ 14.5 Cr | ₹ 1.25 Cr | ₹ 0.45 Cr | ₹ 48 Cr | ₹ 68.8 Cr |
| Day 3 [1st Saturday] | ₹ 3.1 Cr | ₹ 8.25 Cr | ₹ 1.1 Cr | ₹ 0.25 Cr | ₹ 26.8 Cr | ₹ 39.5 Cr |
| Day 4 [1st Sunday] | ₹ 2.75 Cr | ₹ 7 Cr | ₹ 1.02 Cr | ₹ 0.33 Cr | ₹ 27.75 Cr | ₹ 38.85 Cr |
| Day 5 [1st Monday] | ₹ 0.75 Cr | ₹ 1.75 Cr | ₹ 0.4 Cr | ₹ 0.15 Cr | ₹ 7.5 Cr | ₹ 10.55 Cr |
| Day 6 [1st Tuesday] | ₹ 0.75 Cr | ₹ 1.5 Cr | ₹ 0.22 Cr | ₹ 0.13 Cr | ₹ 8.2 Cr | ₹ 10.8 Cr |
| Day 7 [1st Wednesday] | ₹ 0.45 Cr | ₹ 1.3 Cr | ₹ 0.25 Cr | ₹ 0.05 Cr | ₹ 4.85 Cr | ₹ 6.9 Cr |
| Day 8 [2nd Thursday] | ₹ 0.4 Cr | ₹ 1.1 Cr | ₹ 0.22 Cr | ₹ 0.03 Cr | ₹ 4.1 Cr | ₹ 5.85 Cr |
| Week 1 Gross | ₹ 16.8 Cr | ₹ 62.4 Cr | ₹ 5.56 Cr | ₹ 1.89 Cr | ₹ 157.2 Cr | ₹ 243.85 Cr |
| Total | ₹ 16.8 Cr | ₹ 62.4 Cr | ₹ 5.56 Cr | ₹ 1.89 Cr | ₹ 157.2 Cr | ₹ 243.85 Cr |
| Budget | – | – | – | – | – | ₹ 400 Cr |
| Week 1 Collection | – | – | – | – | – | ₹ 243.85 Cr |
War 2 Hit or Flop
Reports suggest that Yash Raj Studios has spent around ₹400 crore on War 2, which includes both production and promotion. For the film to be declared a hit, it needs to cross the ₹400 crore mark in domestic earnings. Currently, the film has collected ₹204 crore and is now earning single-digits per day. The total earnings are expected to be around ₹260-270 crore, which is far from the required target.
War 2’s Telugu failure
War 2 was a hit in Hindi, Telugu and Tamil language theatres, with the Hindi and Telugu versions expected to bring in the highest revenue for YRF. While the Hindi version performed well, touching ₹150 crore in India in its first 8 days, the Telugu version has been a major disappointment. It started strong with ₹22.75 crore on the first day, but the figures quickly collapsed, falling below ₹1 crore per day on the eighth day. According to a report in Great Andhra, the poor performance has forced YRF to settle with Naga Vamsi, who has bought the distribution rights for the Telugu market.
At this point, War 2 looks like a weak performer. Whether it escapes the “flop” label and falls into the “below average” category will be known in the coming days.
Music
Pritham composed the soundtrack for the film, with lyrics written by Amitabh Bhattacharya. The film’s score was composed by Sanchit Balhara and Ankit Balhara. The first song titled “Aawan Jaavan” was released on 31 July 2025. The second track “Jaanb-e-Aali” was released on 7 August 2025. But the full version premiered in theatres along with the film. The full album was released on 16 August 2025.
