Yash Raj Films is facing one of its biggest setbacks with the failure of WAR 2, which has resulted in losses estimated between Rs 60 and 70 crores. The film, directed by Aditya Chopra, starred Hrithik Roshan and Jr NTR, and carried massive pre-release hype.
Despite a staggering budget of Rs 450 crores, WAR 2 failed to recover its costs at the box office. Industry reports suggest YRF managed to recover only around Rs 150 crores through digital, satellite, and music rights. The film’s theatrical revenue is unlikely to cross Rs 140 crores worldwide, making it the first failure in the YRF Spy Universe.
This marks the biggest disaster for YRF in the modern era and is said to be an even greater embarrassment than Thugs of Hindostan, which starred Aamir Khan and Amitabh Bachchan. The collapse of WAR 2 has cast serious doubts on the future of YRF’s Spy Universe, with insiders calling it the possible end of the franchise.
The Telugu distributor, Naga Vamsi, has also suffered heavily. He acquired WAR 2 for Rs 90 crores, but the Telugu share has dropped below Rs 40 crores. This means a loss of over Rs 50 crores, nearly 65 percent of his investment, damaging Bollywood’s image in the south.
The film also ended the winning streak of the YRF Spy Universe, which previously delivered hits like Ek Tha Tiger, Tiger Zinda Hai, War, Pathaan, and Tiger 3. The failure highlights a larger issue within Bollywood, where spectacle is prioritised over strong storytelling. Had WAR 2 focused on script rather than scale, it might have continued the franchise’s success. For now, social media users strongly doubt whether Aditya Chopra and YRF will risk continuing this action saga.
