Hailed as the new demi-god of entertainment, Allu Arjun is setting the box office ablaze with Pushpa 2: The Rule. Released on Thursday across 10,000 screens nationwide, the film is raking in massive collections across Hindi and regional markets.
While the first day saw the film earn Rs 175 crore in net domestic box office collections and the second day is expected to rake in another Rs 150 in earnings, the first weekend may see the movie cross Rs 500 crore in collections across languages, exhibitors and trade analysts told FE. 2022’s RRR, for the uninitiated, had achieved about Rs 350 crore in its opening weekend in India, implying that Pushpa 2 may surpass this number easily, experts said.
The movie, which tells the story of a red sandalwood smuggler named Pushpa Raj, has been released in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Bengali, and Hindi. Other cast members include actors Rashmika Mandanna as Srivalli and Fahadh Faasil as Superintendent of Police Bhanwar Singh Shekhawat.
“Content and entertainment are two things that are working for the movie. We are seeing something like this after a long time following a largely weak performance from Bollywood through the year barring exceptions such as Stree,” says Kunal Sawhney, chief operating officer, Cineline India, which runs the Moviemax chain of cinemas across cities.
While the first instalment of Pushpa, released in December 2021, set the tone for action entertainers from the south, Sawhney says that the second instalment of the film has lived up to its hype. “I am in Delhi right now and people want to watch the film,” he adds of the craze despite high ticket prices.
In the Mumbai region, for instance, tickets for Pushpa 2 have been prized between Rs 200-900 per head, depending on the theatre, screen and timing of shows. Premium screens such as an IMAX with a recliner seat have priced tickets for the movie up to Rs 2,000 per head. The Delhi market also has similar price tags for various formats across theatres. Single-screens, on the other hand, have priced tickets for Pushpa 2 at Rs 60-300 per head depending on the timing of shows as well as the city where the movie is being screened.
Komal Nahta, a Mumbai-based film trade analyst, says that the film has been well-received both in Hindi-speaking and regional markets. On Thursday, the Hindi version of Pushpa 2 opened higher than Shahrukh Khan’s Jawan at Rs 72 crore. Jawan had earned Rs 65 crore on its opening day last year.
Nahta says that by the end of Friday, Hindi earnings of Pushpa 2 will surpass Rs 100 crore in two days, which is a good number for a film coming from the south.
“In many respects, Allu Arjun is a true cross-over artist. His appeal cuts across audiences. Which is why the Hindi version is doing so well,” he says.
Critics have also appreciated the film for portraying its women characters well, apart from raising the bar in terms of action entertainment and giving the male lead the leeway to appear as Goddess Kali.