Filmmaker SS Rajamouli’s period action drama RRR (Roudhram Ranam Rudhiram), which is set to hit theatres on Friday, has already made approximately Rs 750 crore pre-release business worldwide.
The Ram Charan and Junior NTR starrer has also made the highest pre-release theatrical business for an Indian film ever, at nearly Rs 470 crore, surpassing the director’s own Baahubali: The Conclusion, which brought in Rs 350 crore.
The Telugu-speaking states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana contributed Rs 213 crore out of the Rs 468 crore theatrical earnings of RRR. Northern India and Karnataka’s shares are Rs 90 and 45 crore, respectively, while Tamil Nadu and Kerala contributed Rs 42 and 10 crore, bringing the all-India business share to Rs 400 crore. As the film is releasing outside India as well, the inclusion of overseas theatrical earnings of Rs 68 crores takes the overall total to Rs 468 crore.
RRR has also made approximately Rs 275-300 crore of non-theatrical income (music, streaming rights, etc), which, together with its theatrical business, brings the total pre-release earnings to approximately Rs 750 crore.
It is to be noted that since RRR, made on a budget of Rs 336 crore (excluding cast and crew remuneration), is classified as ‘super high-budget’ film, theatres in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have been granted permission to charge special rates for the movie for a limited period.
The AP government has permitted theatres in the state to raise the ticket prices by Rs 75 over the current admission rates for 10 days. In Telangana, the film’s tickets are allowed a hike of Rs 50-100 for the same period.
Meanwhile, in the northern belts, theatres have adopted a pricing strategy wherein the ticket prices for RRR will increase through the day, with morning shows costing the least and night shows being charged more. On BookMyShow, the first-day ticket price of RRR at a randomly picked Delhi theatre ranged from Rs 227 to 421 for a 9 am 2D show, and the rates were Rs 300-500 for a 11 pm one. This was the case in Mumbai too, where prices went from Rs 100-150 (10.30 am/2D) to Rs 200-250 (10.30 pm).
It may be noted that this pricing strategy is similar to the one employed for the Ranveer Singh-starrer 83.
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A pan-Indian film from the Telugu film industry, RRR is set to release in Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam, and Kannada. The film is a fictional account of freedom fighters Alluri Sitaramaraju and Komaram Bheem, essayed by Ram Charan and Junior NTR, respectively.
RRR also boasts a cast that is drawn from several industries, including Hindi actors Alia Bhatt and Ajay Devgn, Irish actor Alison Doody, Shriya Saran, Ray Stevenson, and Olivia Morris, among others.
The film has been certified U/A with a runtime of three hours and six minutes.