Mumbai: Prabhas’ much talked about horror comedy The Raja Saab has witnessed a worrying trend at the box office after an encouraging start. Although opening with huge figures, the film experienced a notable decline in earnings during the weekend, raising concerns about its long term theatrical performance.
On Sunday, the film collected approximately Rs. 20.50 crore at the Indian box office, marking another significant drop. This took The Raja Saab to approximately Rs. 114 crore gross in India over the three day opening weekend. The movie had begun with a bang with Rs. 66 crore on the first day but the pace could not be maintained on a Saturday and Sunday.
Overseas Markets Crash After Strong Start
The situation overseas has been even more disappointing. On Sunday, the movie collected just USD 225, 000 in foreign markets, which is less than one in ten of its opening day receipts. The overall foreign weekend box office revenue has reached USD 3.40 million or about Rs. 30.50 crore.
Adding India and foreign numbers, The Raja Saab has completed its first weekend with a global gross of around Rs. 144.50 crore, and it has failed to pass the 150 crore mark. While some trade trackers peg the global gross slightly higher due to early overseas momentum, the overall trend remains weak.
Regional Performance Paints a Grim Picture
The film has underperformed across most territories. Coastal Andhra has shown relatively better hold, helped by the holiday period, but other regions have seen heavy drops. Nizam, with a good opening day, plummeted by approximately 42 percent on Sunday relative to Saturday. The Hindi version which tends to be stable during weekends also lost its ground on a daily basis highlighting the plight of the film in search of constant footfalls.
The territorial breakup for India stands at Rs. 81.75 crore from AP and TS combined, with Nizam contributing Rs. 35.50 crore, Ceded at Rs. 11 crore, Andhra at Rs. 35.25 crore, Karnataka at Rs. 12 crore, Tamil Nadu and Kerala at Rs. 2.50 crore, and the rest of India at Rs. 17.75 crore.
Overseas, the United States leads with USD 2.05 million, followed by the United Kingdom at USD 350,000, Middle East at USD 325,000, Australia and New Zealand at USD 300,000, Canada at USD 150,000, and the rest of the world at USD 225,000.
Big Budget, Bigger Challenge Ahead
Mounted on a massive budget reportedly exceeding Rs. 400 crore, The Raja Saab depends heavily on theatrical revenue, especially as non theatrical returns are said to be lower than expected. Under normal conditions, the film will hardly qualify past Rs. 200 crore globally with the film recording a poor opening trend and a pathetic hold on the weekend.
However, the upcoming Sankranti holidays offer a small window of hope. The festive period could bring some footfall in the Telugu states during the week long holiday stretch. Even then, according to trade experts, the damage has already been done because of the poor performance at the key opening weekend.
Although The Raja Saab has already passed significant milestones within its initial few days, its overall box office destiny now depends on the extent of the support it is able to obtain over the festive holidays.
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