Sunny Deol’s big return in Border 2 was meant to begin with early-morning salutes from fans across India. Instead, many of them were left waiting outside locked cinema doors.

The film, which released today (January 23), faced last-minute technical issues, with reports of delays in content delivery leading to the cancellation of several morning shows. 

Exhibitors in different cities confirmed that screenings scheduled for 7.30 and 8 AM could not go ahead as planned.

According to trade reports, the final version of the film was not ready until late Thursday night. 

Delivery company UFO Moviez informed theatres that the content would only be available much later than expected. One senior trade source said, “The content is expected by midnight… Given the content status, morning shows look very difficult.”

A message circulated to cinema owners added that the download would begin at 6.30 AM. With the film running for 192 minutes, it could take up to four hours to prepare for screening. This made early shows “very difficult” in many parts of the country.

Still, exhibitors remain hopeful. A trade source told HT that while several morning shows were cancelled, most cinemas expect to start screenings by around 10 AM.

The delay comes despite huge anticipation around the film, which is a sequel to JP Dutta’s 1997 war classic Border. 

Directed by Anurag Singh, the new film stars Sunny Deol alongside Varun Dhawan, Diljit Dosanjh and Ahan Shetty, with the story again set during the 1971 India-Pakistan War.

There is also nostalgia built in, with reports that Akshaye Khanna, Suniel Shetty and Sudesh Berry appear in digitally de-aged cameos.