Ram Charan, Jr NTR, and Alia Bhatt in RRR It is safe to say that no other filmmaker in India today is as influential as director SS Rajamouli. Although his latest movie RRR has two of the biggest stars of Telugu cinema, NTR Jr and Ram Charan, it is Rajamouli’s reputation for making grand movies that remains the film’s main draw. It seems like everyone in the country shows up at the theatres when a Rajamouli film releases. And in that respect, Rajamouli is peerless. At this point, no other filmmaker in the country has managed to strike a connection with people cutting across territorial boundaries, languages, social, cultural and religious differences.
After the massive success of Baahubali, RRR is running riot at the box offices across India. The film has earned Rs 500 crore worldwide by Monday and refuses to give up in the face of expected fall during the week. On Tuesday, RRR box office collection is expected to be around Rs 15-16 crore for its Hindi version, facilitating its entry into the Rs 100 crore club. As per Box Office India, early estimates point out that Jr NTR-Ram Charan film has seen minimal drop in its collection across the northern belt. Its business is being driven by Gujarat, UP, Bihar, Odisha, Rajasthan, CP Berar and CI. On Monday, trade analyst Taran Adarsh had tweeted, “RRR #Hindi RRRoars and scores on the crucial make-or-break Mon… BIGGEST Day 4 [post pandemic]… FANTASTIC HOLD everywhere, especially in mass circuits… Will cross 💯 cr today [Tue; Day 5]… Fri 19 cr, Sat 24 cr, Sun 31.50 cr, Mon 17 cr. Total: ₹ 91.50 cr. #India biz.” This makes RRR a hattrick for Rajamouli.
With Baahubali: The Conclusion he showed us the true potential of India’s movie market. In 2017, the film collected more than Rs 100 crore just on its opening day. And within 10 days of its release, the collection at the worldwide box office stood at over Rs 1000 crore. And these are the numbers that were something unheard of at the time. However, Baahubali: The Beginning has a lion’s share in the humongous success of the second part. The hype created by the first part and a cliff-hanger ending, with ‘Why did Kattappa kill Baahubali’ dominating our national pop-cultural discourse, had people lining up for tickets when Baahubali 2 arrived.
RRR doesn’t have the benefit of a sequel. But, still, the market was ripe for its takeover as the film came with the stamp of SS Rajamouli. RRR has shattered several day box office records including those made by Baahubali 2.
RRR trumped Baahubali 2, Rajinikanth’s BO records in Telugu states
According to AndhraBoxoffice.com, Baahubali 2 had grossed over Rs 57 crore in Telugu states on opening day. However, the gross opening collection of RRR in the Telugu states alone is pegged at over Rs 104 crore.
RRR’s collection in the Telugu states alone leaves behind the opening day total domestic collection from all versions of 2.0. Superstar Rajinikanth-starrer had opened at little more than Rs 73 crore in India.
In Hindi belt, RRR makes pandemic records
The opening day collection of the RRR’s Hindi version is as same as 2.0. The Shankar directorial had debuted in the Hindi market with a little more than Rs 20 crore. According to trade analyst Taran Adarsh, the first day business of RRR (Hindi) stood at Rs 20.7 crore. However, the Telugu version of RRR added approximately Rs 5 crore from the north Indian market on its opening day. Nonetheless, the Hindi version managed to secure a second-best opening in recent times. The film’s opening is only next to Akshay Kumar’s Sooryavanshi, which was released during the last Diwali holiday. The film brought in over Rs 26 crore on its opening day. It’s worth noting RRR generated a Rs 20-crore opening during a non-holiday release.
The Hindi version of RRR showed huge growth on the following Saturday and Sunday by collecting Rs 24 crore and over Rs 31 crore respectively. The Hindi version had collected a little more than Rs 74 crore within its first three days and fell short of overtaking Sooryavanshi’s Rs 77 crore opening weekend collection.
Ram Charan and Jr NTR in RRR. (Photo:DVV Entertainment)
RRR posts a Monday record
Adarsh revealed that RRR saw the strongest Monday since the pandemic began. It earned Rs 17 crore on the first day of its release, which is ahead of The Kashmir Files (Rs 15.05 cr), Sooryavanshi (Rs 14.51 cr) and Gangubai Kathiawadi (Rs 8.19 cr).
RRR creates Rs 500 cr record
The worldwide opening day collection of RRR, from all versions and formats, including 3D and IMAX, has overtaken the records of Baahubali 2. Accounting for inflation, the first-day domestic collection of RRR has overtaken Baahubali 2 by a very thin margin. According to AndhraBoxOffice.com, RRR raked in Rs 158 crore, while Baahubali 2 collected Rs 152 crore domestically on day one.
RRR’s worldwide collection has failed to beat Baahubali 2. According to the producers, the film’s three-day collection is about Rs 500 crore, while Baahubali 2 in the same period had collected a whopping Rs 509 crore.
But, considering the pandemic, a Rs 500-crore opening weekend box office business is not an easy feat to achieve. It is a new benchmark for the industry, which is still recovering from the destruction wrought by three waves of the pandemic.
Will any other filmmaker manage to overtake RRR’s new record or only SS Rajamouli can do it?
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