Pushpa – The Rise, the Telugu film starring actor Allu Arjun, which released in theatres on Friday, has collected a total of Rs 38.20 crore (gross) at the box office from the Telugu speaking states (Andhra Pradesh and Telangana) on its first day of release, Anupam Reddy, secretary of the Telangana State Film Chamber of Commerce, tol Silverscreen India.
Pushpa, stars Allu Arjun in the titular character, Pushpa Raj, and is set against the backdrop of red sandalwood smuggling. The film is directed by Sukumar and produced by Mythri Movie Makers. It also stars Rashmika Mandanna and Fahadh Faasil while Samantha Ruth Prabhu makes a cameo appearance through a song in the film. The makers are releasing the film in two parts, of which the first part released on Friday.
Speaking to Silverscreen India, Reddy, who is also the owner of Hyderabad’s Sudha Theatre, said, “We have run five shows after the government gave permission for running an additional show. All of the shows recorded 100 percent occupancy and across the state, each ticket (multiplex) is sold at Rs 250 and 200 (single screen). Pushpa has performed and fared really well than Akhanda. A major faction of the audience was Allu Arjun fans”
Reddy also noticed that as Pushpa released, occupancy for shows screening Spider-Man: No Way Home, that was running successfully, has reduced to a 90 percent. “More shows are screened for Pushpa, as it is a regional content,” he added.
Akshita Reddy, who runs Ranga 70mm single-screen theatre in Hyderabad, also noted that her premises, which also ran five shows, was ‘house-full’, with Allu Arjun fans comprising most of the audience. “Despite the extra show permit coming at the last moment, the fans were the ones who purchased them. Though content-wise, the film did not satisfy them a lot, but Allu Arjun’s exceptional acting was what that most of the audience loved, as I heard from them,” she added.
Mentioning that Pushpa had come out with flying colours for its first day, she added that as of Saturday afternoon, the footfall “slightly slipped”, (given that Spider-Man is also running), but Pushpa has been doing well when compared to Akhanda.
Balgovind Raj Tadla, secretary of Greater Telangana Exhibitors Association, also pointed out that Pushpa’s response among the audience is “overwhelming”. “All the screens were booked for the opening day and for the next three days, all the shows are full. It can be called as an era of ending the depression of theatres, and not competition for screens,” he pointed out.
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Given Spider-Man is also doing a good job, Tadla said that while the Hollywood film will attract MCU fans, films like Pushpa and Akhanda cater to an alternate crowd, which results in different types of audiences coming to theatres. “Akhanda was a different category, so is Pushpa and Spider-Man, which will definitely give a healthy environment for theatres to thrive. With films like RRR, we are expecting people who watch films in OTTs will also come,” Tadla added.
Meanwhile, Pushpa which was released in Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, and Malayalam, has collected Rs 45 crore (net) in all languages, as per a Box Office India report.