Sunny Deol and Emraan Hashmi are preparing for a major box office showdown once again, nearly two decades after their films first went head-to-head in cinemas. This time, Awarapan 2 and Batwara 1947 are set to arrive on 14 August, bringing the two actors back into direct competition. But their upcoming clash has an interesting history: when Sunny and Emraan last faced each other at the box office in 2007, there was a clear winner.
The upcoming battle isn't the first time Sunny Deol and Emraan Hashmi have competed for audiences on the same release date.
Their earlier clash took place 19 years ago, when Sunny's Apne and Emraan's Awarapan both reached cinemas on 29 June 2007. While the two films belonged to very different genres, they found themselves fighting for the same audience at the box office.
According to Koimoi, Mohit Suri's romantic drama Awarapan opened with Rs 79 lakh on its first day. Apne, meanwhile, had the stronger start, collecting Rs 1.89 crore on its opening day.
Sunny Deol therefore emerged ahead in the opening-day race.
The gap between the two films became even clearer when their overall box office performances were considered.
According to Sacnilk, Apne recorded an India net collection of Rs 21.90 crore and earned Rs 38.81 crore worldwide. Its overseas collection stood at Rs 9.24 crore, against a reported budget of Rs 18 crore, making it a commercial hit.
For Awarapan, however, the clash proved more difficult. Bollywood Hungama reported that the Emraan Hashmi-starrer collected Rs 7.76 crore net in India. Its India gross stood at Rs 10.78 crore, while it earned Rs 1.4 crore overseas and Rs 12.18 crore worldwide.
The film was unable to recover its budget at the box office, despite receiving strong appreciation from critics.
Now, 19 years later, Sunny Deol and Emraan Hashmi are once again set to clash at the ticket windows.
Batwara 1947, starring Sunny Deol, and Awarapan 2, led by Emraan Hashmi, are both scheduled to release on 14 August. Early trade predictions, however, suggest that the situation could be very different from 2007.
According to Koimoi, Awarapan 2 is predicted to open at around Rs 15 crore on its first day. Sacnilk reported that the film had collected Rs 4.16 crore through advance booking, with the figure rising to Rs 6.65 crore when blocked seats were included.
Batwara 1947, on the other hand, had earned Rs 1.03 crore in advance booking, reaching Rs 3.04 crore when blocked seats were factored in. Koimoi has predicted an opening-day collection of around Rs 10–11 crore for Sunny Deol's film.
If these projections hold, the 2026 clash could see the tables turn. Sunny Deol had comfortably won the opening-day battle with Apne in 2007, but this time, Emraan Hashmi's Awarapan 2 appears to be heading into release with the stronger opening-day projection.
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Batwara 1947 marks the reunion of Sunny Deol and Rajkumar Santoshi after a long gap. The film also sees Sunny sharing the screen with Preity Zinta again after several years. The two were previously seen together in Bhaiaji Superhit.
Apart from Sunny and Preity, the film also features Shabana Azmi and Ali Fazal.
Meanwhile, Awarapan 2 is a sequel to the 2007 film Awarapan, which had failed commercially despite earning praise from critics. The new film stars Emraan Hashmi alongside Disha Patani and Shabana Azmi in important roles.
The original Awarapan featured Emraan Hashmi opposite Shriya Saran.
With both films arriving on the same day, the question now is whether Sunny Deol can repeat his 2007 box office victory, or whether, after 19 years, Emraan Hashmi will finally come out on top in this long-awaited clash.
