The first three months of the year are considered crucial for the film industry. A strong opening not only boosts a film’s lifetime prospects but also sets a positive tone for the market. January 2026 is already packed with big releases. Films like Jan Neta and The Raja Saab are slated for Pongal, while all eyes are firmly on Sunny Deol’s much-awaited Border 2, releasing on January 23.
Coming nearly 28 years after the original, the sequel has generated strong buzz even before the trailer launch. Trade estimates for its opening-day collection have already started doing the rounds—and the numbers look big.
A look back at Border’s box office
Released in 1997, the original Border was made on a modest budget of around ₹12 crore and went on to gross nearly ₹66.7 crore worldwide, earning more than five times its cost. That success has played a major role in the hype surrounding the sequel.
For Border 2, reports suggest a massive budget of around ₹300 crore. With such scale, the film will need a strong start, and early projections indicate exactly that.
Opening day prediction for Border 2
According to trade reports cited by Pinkvilla, Border 2 could open in the range of ₹40–44 crore on its first day. Earlier estimates, around the teaser release, pegged the opening at ₹33–40 crore. After the release of the first song, expectations have gone up further. With the trailer still pending, there is room for even more upside.
Can it beat Dhurandhar and Dangal?
If Border 2 manages even ₹40–42 crore on Day 1, it would comfortably surpass the opening-day numbers of Dhurandhar, which reportedly collected around ₹28 crore on its first day. Even Dangal, which later went on to cross ₹2,000 crore worldwide, had an opening-day collection of about ₹29 crore.
At this stage, the discussion is purely about first-day records. Whether Border 2 can sustain momentum and enter the all-time blockbuster league will depend on word of mouth and content. But going by early trends, Sunny Deol seems well placed to deliver one of the biggest openings of 2026.
