Awarapan 2 advance bookings are on in full flow, with the film having sold over 1 lakh tickets for its opening day. The Emraan Hashmi film releases Friday. It may come as a surprise to many younger readers who keep hearing only positive things about Emraan Hashmi’s Awarapan from older audiences, but when it released in 2007, the film was a box office bomb. The ambitious film from Vishesh Films managed to earn a mere ₹7.7 crore net in its lifetime. But over the years, as viewers discovered it on home media, cable, and eventually streaming, Awarapan gained a cult following. That belated credibility and love are now helping the sequel, set to release this weekend. Awarapan 2 is tracking to have one of the biggest openings for Bollywood in 2026. In fact, the buzz is so strong that the film is set to cross part 1’s lifetime earnings even before release.Emraan Hashmi on the promotional poster of Awarapan 2.Awarapan 2 advance bookingsThe advance bookings for Awarapan 2 began just 48 hours before release, but were off to a rollicking start on Wednesday itself. By 3 PM on Thursday, just 18 hours before the film hits screens, Awarapan 2 has sold over 1.3 lakh tickets for release day. According to Sacnilk, the film has sold tickets worth ₹4 crore for its opening day. Trade insiders estimate that total advance bookings for the film's opening weekend and beyond exceed ₹9 crore gross ( ₹7-8 crore net). This means that even before release, Awarapan 2 has surpassed the lifetime collection of its predecessor.Awarapan had an opening-day collection of ₹79 lakh and netted ₹ 2.88 crore in its first weekend. Even after accounting for inflation, this was a low figure. In contrast, Awarapan 2 is expected to be Emraan Hashmi’s highest opener, potentially reaching the ₹20 crore mark on day 1.Awarapan 2 box office predictionAwarapan 2 is clashing with Sunny Deol’s Batwara 1947 at the box office. But trade analysts say that Awarapan 2 will be the winner of this battle. Most estimates put the film’s opening at a staggering ₹20 crore net. Even the more conservative estimates are around ₹15-18 crore, a solid figure. As things stand, Awarapan 2 should be looking to cross ₹100 crore worldwide in its opening weekend itself, eight times part 1’s lifetime collection. That is an extraordinary turnaround.All about Awarapan 2Directed by Nitin Kakkar and produced by Vishesh Bhatt, Awarapan 2 brings back Emraan Hashmi in his iconic role of Shivam Pandit. The film also stars Shabana Azmi, Disha Patani, and Suvinder Vicky. Awarapan 2 arrives in theatres on August 14.Abhimanyu Mathur is Deputy Editor, Entertainment at Hindustan Times. With almost 15 years of experience in writing about everything from films and TV shows to cricket matches and elections, he inhales and exhales pop culture and news. Currently, he watches movies and TV shows and talks to celebrities for a living, while occasionally writing about them as well.