Chiranjeevi’s Mana Shankara Varaprasad Garu faced its first major working-day test on Monday, January 19, 2026 after a phenomenal opening week powered by the Sankranti holiday spirit. The film – a family comedy – featured the veteran actor in the role of an undercover agent seeking to reconcile with his estranged wife and children to comedic effect. It also features an ensemble cast comprising the talented Nayanthara, Catherine Tresa and fan-favourite Daggubati Venkatesh in an extended cameo.
The film performed steadily despite the usual Monday dip, following a busy weekend. This suggests that it has successfully transitioned from a fan-driven event to a long-term box office success.
Monday collections take a major dip
According to data from Sacnilk, the film earned an estimated Rs 8 crore net in India on its eighth day. While this is a 54.67% drop from the Sunday peak of Rs 17.50 crore, such a hold on a second Monday is considered highly impressive for a big-budget production. This latest addition brings the film’s total domestic net collection to approximately Rs 165.75 crore within just eight days of its theatrical run.
This milestone is particularly important for Chiranjeevi’s career; by crossing the Rs 165 crore mark, Mana Shankara Varaprasad Garu has officially surpassed the lifetime India net collections of his 2023 film Waltair Veerayya which raked in collection of Rs 161 crore. It is now the second-highest-grossing film of the actor’s long and enduring career; trailing only the historical epic Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy. On a global scale, the film’s total gross has now comfortably sailed past the Rs 240 crore mark according to the filmmakers.
Occupancy trends and regional dominance
The movie held onto a decent overall Telugu occupancy of 34.24% this Monday. As you would expect for a typical workday, the numbers started a bit lower in the morning at 24.46% but climbed steadily throughout the afternoon, eventually hitting a peak of 42.38% for the evening shows. This pattern suggests that families and office-goers are still making time to head to the cinema after their daily routines are finished.
The movie is still a massive hit across several key regions. In Vizag, theaters were packed with an impressive 78% occupancy even for a Monday, showing just how much of a pull the film has in the Andhra area. Hyderabad also stayed steady with 23.7% occupancy across nearly 500 shows, while Warangal saw a great turnout with over 50% of seats filled.
In Guntur, the film maintained a solid 38% occupancy over 115 screenings, and Karimnagar saw even higher turnout at 44% across its 45 shows. Even in Bengaluru, where there were about 240 shows, the film drew a consistent crowd with 18% occupancy, proving that the interest extends well beyond the local Telugu markets.
Given the reported production budget of Rs 200 crore, the film has already managed to earn back a large chunk of its costs. Industry experts feel that if it can keep up this pace through the rest of the week, the movie is in a great position to hit the Rs 300 crore worldwide gross mark by the time its second weekend comes to a close.