Aravinda Sametha becomes Jr NTR's third consecutive 100 cr film; Kayamkulam Kochunni earns Rs 34 cr worldwide

Junior NTR’s much-awaited action entertainer Aravinda Sametha directed by Trivikram and Nivin Pauly’s period drama Kayamkulam Kochunni directed by Roshan Andrrews are the notable releases in the south this week. While holdover hits like romance drama 96 and Ratsasan continue to mint money at the box-office in Kollywood, Tollywood and Mollywood industries received a substantial facelift thanks to the extraordinary audience response for Aravinda Sametha, and Kayamkulam Kochunni, both of which hit the screens on 11 October to capitalise on the Dussehra holidays this week. Aravinda Sametha, which marks the first-time collaboration of ace filmmaker Trivikram Srinivas and Junior NTR, has grossed a whopping Rs 39 Cr on its opening day (11 October) in the Telugu states, with a distributor share of Rs 26.9 Cr. The film registered the all-time second highest opening ever in the Telugu states (Andhra Pradesh and Telangana), making it a solid non-Baahubali record for day one. [caption id=“attachment_5359751” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  A still from Aravinda Sametha. Image via Twitter[/caption] The four-day opening weekend total of Telugu states stands at an excellent Rs 73 Cr, with a distributor share of Rs 49.4 Cr. The Haarika & Hassine Creations crept past the Rs 100 Cr gross mark worldwide before the evening shows began on the fourth day (14 October) of release. Taking the worldwide figures into account, the film’s four-day opening cumulative is pegged at Rs 112 Cr with a share of Rs 68.1 Cr. The movie, which stars Pooja Hegde and Eesha Rebba in essential roles, has become the third consecutive Rs 100 Cr grosser for Junior NTR, who is currently enjoying terrific clout at the ticket window after Janatha Garage and Jai Lava Kusa. Now, NTR has become the only Telugu hero to have three consecutive Rs 100 Cr films at the ticket window. Rajinikanth and Vijay are the only other actors from the south to hold this incredible record. Considering that today and tomorrow have been already declared holidays in both the Telugu states, the makers of Aravinda Sametha can expect the positive momentum to extend this week. In the US, Aravinda Sametha is off to a flying start again. The movie has grossed a massive $1.9 million until Tuesday evening and is inching towards the $2 million mark. The project also marks the fourth consecutive $1.5 million grosser stateside for NTR after Nannakku Prematho, Janatha Garage, and Jai Lava Kusa.  Aravinda Sametha is all set to dethrone Nannakku Prematho ($2.022 million) to emerge as the highest-grossing film of Junior NTR in the USA very soon. The film is currently the sixth highest-earning film of 2018 in the USA after  Rangasthalam ($3.5 million), Bharat Ane Nenu ($3.4 million), Mahanati ($2.5 million), Geetha Govindam ($2.4 million) and Agnyaathavaasi ($2 million). [caption id=“attachment_4829241” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Priya Anand and Nivin Pauly in Kayamkulam Kochunni. Image via Twitter[/caption] In Australia too, the film has emerged as a strong success with the four-day opening weekend gross of A$286K (Rs 1.5 Cr). It is now the best opening weekend ever in the country after Bharat Ane Nenu (A$339K in 3 days) and Rangasthalam (A$289K in 3 days). Nivin Pauly’s Kayamkulam Kochunni, which also stars Mohanlal and Priya Anand in significant roles, has grossed a nifty Rs 34 Cr worldwide in its four-day opening weekend. The movie, with its total of $92,367 (Rs 67.78 lacs), has already become the all-time 12th highest-grossing Malayalam film in the US. It has also supplanted Aadhi and Koode to become the highest-collecting Malayalam film of 2018 in the US. Kayamkulam Kochunni has pulled in a theatrical revenue of Rs 77 lacs in four days in Bangalore, making it the biggest opening weekend ever for any Malayalam film in the city. In Kollywood, Vijay Sethupathi, Trisha-starrer 96 has steadily vaulted over the Rs 25 Cr mark in Tamil Nadu in 12 days. While the film received good screens in Chennai for the second weekend, the total gross from the city stands at Rs 4.21 Cr, making it one of the lucrative territories for the romance drama helmed by Prem Kumar. Ratsasan, another film which rode on super word-of-mouth reviews, has raked in Rs 12 Cr from 10 days. The second-weekend numbers of the film have registered career-best figures for actor Vishnu Vishal.