This Independence Day will see the clash of two mega tentpoles from India — Lokesh Kanagaraj’s action thriller Coolie, starring Rajinikanth, and Ayan Mukerji’s spy thriller War 2, starring Hrithik Roshan and Jr NTR. While the advance booking in India hasn’t started yet, if the US advance ticket sales are anything to go by yet, Coolie is leading the race with a rather wide margin.
The advance booking of Coolie in North America currently stands at $1.06 million. It’s become the fastest Tamil film to cross the $1 million mark in its pre-sales in North America. This includes $850K from just the cinemas in the US alone, where it’s sold over 35,000 tickets already. It’s releasing with 1147 shows at 430 locations across the US, as per Sacnilk.
With this milestone, Coolie has entered the short list of Tamil blockbusters which hit the $1 million mark through just its advance booking in North America. The other members of this coveted club include another Rajinikanth action drama, Pa Ranjith’s Kabali (2016), which stands at $1.92 million, followed by another Kanagaraj action thriller, Leo (2023) starring Vijay, which garnered $1.86 million in its North America pre-sales. The third spot, which Coolie now follows, is held by Mani Ratnam’s 2022 historical epic Ponniyin Selvan I at $1.1 million.
Meanwhile, War 2 lags far behind in comparison. It’s collected $168K through 1585 shows at 582 locations across North America. Out of this, $150.9K has been collected from the US cinemas alone. Given the current trajectory, War 2 may not be able to even hit the $1 million mark in North America pre-sales, which Coolie has surpassed already, even 10 days before its worldwide release. However, War 2 has managed to outperform NTR’s previous action tentpole, Koratala Siva’s Devara last year. While Devara hit the $100K pre-sales mark in 11 hours, War 2 has managed to do that in only seven hours, becoming the fastest Indian film to do so in North America.
War 2 is the sequel to Siddharth Anand’s 2019 blockbuster War, starring Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff, Vaani Kapoor, and Ashutosh Rana. While Roshan and Rana reprise their roles in the sequel, they’re being joined by NTR and Kiara Advani among others. War 2 will mark Mukerji’s first directorial venture outside of his home turf, Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions.
War 2 is the next instalment in Aditya Chopra’s ambitious YRF Spy Universe, which consists of blockbusters like the Tiger franchise, Pathaan, and War. Its next instalment is Alpha, starring Alia Bhatt and Sharvari, which will release in cinemas this Christmas on December 25. Yash Raj Films is already reaping the benefits of its latest global box office success, Mohit Suri’s romantic drama Saiyaara.
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Meanwhile, Coolie is a part of the Lokiverse or the LCU (Lokesh Cinematic Universe), which already consists of Kaithi, Vikram, and Leo. Coolie also stars Nagarjuna, Soubin Shahir, Shruti Haasan, Pooja Hegde, and Sathyaraj, along with a cameo by Aamir Khan. Both Coolie and War 2 will release in cinemas worldwide on August 14.
