After a long and momentous wait, fans finally got to see acting legend Chiranjeevi back on the big screen, and the response has been nothing short of a celebration. The film, Mana Shankara Varaprasad Garu which released on January 18, 2026, also stars Nayanthara in the titular role supported by the performances of Catherine Tresa and Daggubati Venkatesh in an extended cameo.
Directed by Anil Ravipudi, the film is a family comedy appropriate for all ages; A major reason behind its massive success. The plot follows an undercover agent who tries to make amends with his estranged wife and children in a comedy of errors to humorous effect.
The film took advantage of the lucrative Sankranti window to maximise footfall even during the busy weekday and has thus maintained a steady and strong presence at the Box Office; managing to beat out other popular movies as well such as Prabhas‘ the Raja Saab.
A historic first week at the Box Office
The film reached a major milestone on its seventh day, which fell on a Sunday, allowing it to capitalize on the holiday spirit. According to data from industry tracker Sacnilk, the movie earned an estimated Rs 17.50 crore net in India on day seven alone. This strong Sunday performance pushed the total one-week domestic collection to a massive Rs 157.75 crore. To put into context the Raja Saab has raked in collections of Rs 139.02 crore domestically, and on its 10th day at the Box Office it earned a meagre Rs 2.26 crore.
When looking at the global stage, the film has already crossed the Rs 222.50 crore mark in total gross collections with overseas earnings amounting to Rs 35.25 crore. This is a significant achievement, with the film having made back it’s massive budget of Rs 200 crore and then some. It is unlikely that the successful theatrical run of Mana Shankara Varaprasad Garu is going to stop anytime soon.
Sacnilk reports that the film is now eyeing an unprecedented milestone which has not been achieved by any of Chiranjeevi’s movies yet: The 300 crore mark. Certainly, if it achieves it – the film will go on record to become the megastar’s highest grossing feature of his career. It is currently on track to be one of the most successful films of the year, having already outperformed several other major recent releases.
Massive theatre occupancy across major cities
Energy in the theatres remained high throughout the weekend, with fans lining up for shows from the early morning until late at night. Sacnilk reports that the overall occupancy for Telugu audiences stood at an impressive 59.67% on Sunday. The afternoon shows hovered around 67%, while the night shows stayed steady at 50% as the holiday period drew to a close.
The demand was particularly intense during the evening, where occupancy peaked at nearly 75%. In major hubs like Hyderabad, the film saw theatre occupancy rates of 64.50% across 554 shows which is still a massive number. Other cities like Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, and Guntur also reported very high numbers – 94.75%, 78.75% and 84.25% respectively, showing that the film has a broad appeal across both urban and rural areas.