The Raja Saab grossed an unimpressive USD 2.60 million (Rs. 23.50 crore) on its first day worldwide, including USD 1.70 million in previews from Thursday. The majority of the overseas business came from the United States, where the film grossed around USD 1.70 million, including USD 1.35 million from previews.
On Friday, the film had virtually little walk-up business, which does not auger well for its long-term prospects. Unless the Hindi versions are well-received, Telugu films have a significant challenge in the global market. If the reception is negative, they may fizzle out rapidly, as is the case here based on Friday business in the United States. The abroad opening weekend is projected to total less than USD 5 million.
Combined with Rs. 66.50 crore from India, the global business totalled Rs. 90 crore. That appears to be a large number, but not when considering how Telugu films run. The Rs. 100 crore international opening day is regarded as a sort of standard for Indian films, and this picture falls just short of it. However, a Telugu film’s opening day gross of Rs. 100 crore is not the same as that of a Bollywood film.
A much more equitable comparison is to simply separate Telugu films. Nine Telugu films have grossed Rs. 100 crore globally on their opening day, five of which belong to Prabhas, who has delivered them constantly since 2017, with the exception of Radhe Shyam and now this.
