Sunny Deol’s return to his iconic war franchise with Border 2 has delivered a powerful opening weekend at the Indian box office, reaffirming the actor’s mass appeal and the enduring nostalgia around patriotic action. Yet, despite the enthusiasm and a strong Sunday surge, the film has fallen short of matching, the historic opening weekend of Deol’s own comeback blockbuster film Gadar 2, which remains one of Bollywood’s biggest post-pandemic box-office phenomena.Border 2 collected a strong Rs 30 crore on Friday, followed by Rs 36.5 crore on Saturday (+21.67%) and an impressive Rs 54.5 crore Sunday (+49.32%), taking its three-day total to Rs 121 crore net. The growth curve, especially Sunday’s jump, has been widely read as a positive indicator that the film isn’t restricted to fan-heavy day-one footfall but is benefitting from word-of-mouth expansion across multiplexes and mass belts alike.However, when juxtaposed with Gadar 2, the comparison highlights the scale of the challenge. Gadar 2 opened on a wave of nostalgia-driven euphoria and massive repeat viewing. It posted Rs 40.1 crore on Friday, followed by Rs 43.08 crore on Saturday (+7.43%) and Rs 51.7 crore on Sunday (+20.01%), culminating in a Rs 134.88 crore weekend. Context matters here. Gadar 2 wasn’t merely a sequel , it was a cultural event. The film’s theatrical run saw single-screens revived, smaller centers running at capacity, and unprecedented repeat audiences, ultimately driving it toward historic numbers of over Rs 500 crore collection at the ticket window. Border 2, meanwhile, releases in a more normalized marketplace, with screens better distributed but audience frenzy less concentrated. While its Sunday surge indicates positive chatter, it lacks the feverish mania that propelled Gadar 2 into the record books.That said, the story for Border 2 is still far from over as all eyes will now be on Republic day numbers. Opening weekends are only chapter one. Gadar 2’s legacy was built on endurance, weekday holds and repeat viewing. Border 2 has started solidly, and the weekdays will determine whether it can create its own kind of box-office narrative given that next week it will clash with Rani Mukerji’s Mardaani 3 .Border 2 is directed by Anurag Singh and features Varun Dhawan, Diljit Dosanjh, Ahan Shetty, Paramvir Cheema, Mona Singh, Anya Singh, Medha Rana and Sonam Bajwa.
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