New Delhi, Jan 10 (.) Actor Prabhas’ much-awaited horror-comedy “The Raja Saab” made a strong debut at the box office on Friday. Despite receiving mixed reviews, the film surpassed the first-day earnings of the blockbuster Dhurandhar, which had collected Rs 28 crore.
According to industry tracker Sacnilk, “The Raja Saab earned Rs 45 crore net on its opening day, and including paid previews, the total stands at Rs 54.15 crore net.”
The film performed exceptionally well in Telugu-speaking regions, with an overall occupancy of 57.16 percent on Friday. Morning shows opened at 50.92 percent, afternoon shows at 50.82 percent, evening shows rose to 57.70 percent, and night shows peaked at 69.20 percent. Bengaluru (980 shows) and Hyderabad (976 shows) led in the number of screenings, followed by Vizag (339 shows) and Vijayawada (249 shows).
Hyderabad recorded 76 percent occupancy, while Vizag emerged as a standout performer with 82 percent occupancy despite fewer shows.
The Tamil version had a more modest start, with an overall occupancy of 22.61 percent. Night shows peaked at 27.87 percent. Chennai was the largest market with 196 shows, while smaller cities like Trichy (31.25 percent), Vellore (30.50 percent ), and Pondicherry (29.25 percent) showed strong interest despite limited screenings.
Coimbatore recorded 20.50 percent occupancy, whereas Madurai, Salem, Kochi, and Trivandrum remained below 20 percent. Bengaluru had the weakest Tamil response at 8 percent.
In the Hindi belt, the film opened more slowly with overall occupancy at 15.63 percent. Morning shows began at 7.47 percent, afternoon at 15.46 percent, evening at 18.26 percent, and night shows at 21.34 percent. Delhi NCR led with 789 Hindi screenings, followed by Mumbai (582) and Ahmedabad (442). Bengaluru recorded the highest occupancy at 22 percent for Hindi shows, while Kolkata (11 percent), Ahmedabad (13.5 percent) and Surat (10.5 percent) showed muted interest.
While ‘The Raja Saab’ opened strongly in the South, its overall collection is weaker than previous Prabhas releases, including Salaar (Rs 90 crore), Kalki 2898 AD (Rs 95 crore), and Adipurush (Rs 86 crore).
Directed by Maruthi, The Raja Saab stars Prabhas in the lead, alongside Sanjay Dutt, Malavika Mohanan, Nidhhi Agerwal, Riddhi Kumar, Boman Irani, and Zarina Wahab.
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