Naga Chaitanya, Samantha Akkineni's Majili crosses Rs 50 cr mark; Madhura Raja off to a flying start

Mollywood cinema is ruling the roost at the South Indian box office this week with new releases such as Mammootty’s _Madhura Raja_ and Fahadh Faasil, Sai Pallavi’s Athiran . Meanwhile, holdover hits such as Naga Chaitanya, Samantha Ruth Prabhu’s Telugu film _Majili_ and Hip-hop Tamizha’s Tamil entertainer Natpe Thunai are also faring well and have set the cash registers ringing. Mohanlal’s _Lucifer_ is nearing the end of its significant theatrical run after tasting substantial commercial success. Mammootty’s Madhura Raja was one of the most-anticipated films from Mollywood since the project was helmed by director Vysakh, who delivered the massive industry hit Pulimurugan with Mohanlal in 2016. The film raked in the moolah at the Kerala box-office on day one with an excellent gross of Rs 3.68 cr, bettering Mammootty’s previous best opening of The Great Father (Rs 3.55 cr). It registered the fifth highest opening day figure for a Malayalam film in Kerala after O_diyan, Lucifer, Kayamkulam Kochunni_, and Pulimurugan. The opening weekend gross of the movie in Kerala is estimated to be above Rs 10 cr. [caption id=“attachment_6440721” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  A still from Madhura Raja. YouTube[/caption] The worldwide opening day cumulative total of Madhura Raja is pegged at Rs 9.5 cr, which marks the fourth biggest day one gross for any Malayalam film after Odiyan, Lucifer, and Kayamkulam Kochunni. So far, only two Mollywood films, Odiyan, and Lucifer, have sprinted past the Rs 10 cr worldwide gross mark on opening day. In the USA, Madhura Raja secured the second biggest release for a Malayalam film with 51 locations, besting Mohanlal’s Lucifer’s 58 locations. Produced by Nelson Ipe Cinemas, the film which also stars Jai, Jagapathi Babu, Nedumudi Venu, Anusree, and Narain in important roles, was released in nearly 103 locations in the UAE-GCC territory. The movie received an extraordinary release from Phars Films in the overseas regions with the overall location count standing at 216, led by the UAE, USA, and UK. In three days, the film, which released worldwide on 12 April, has earned $34,151 (Rs 23.69 lakhs) in the USA and $9,900 (Rs 6.86 lakhs) in Canada, taking the North America total to $44,051 (Rs 30.56 lakhs). As expected, the UAE-GCC territory has delivered the best with a fantastic three-day total of Rs 7.15 cr which is only next to Kerala’s opening weekend gross. The opening day UAE gross of Rs 3.03 cr is Mammootty’s career-best in the region. In Tamil Nadu, the film has garnered close to Rs 36 lakh gross in three days, which is again the best opening for Mammukka. The kind of response Madhura Raja has received from Bengaluru multiplexes is extraordinary. The film’s three-day total from Bengaluru stands at a whopping Rs 48.27 lakhs, making it the third highest grosser in the city this year. Fahadh Faasil, who is basking in the glory of his blockbuster Kumbalangi Nights, returned to cinemas for the Vishu festival weekend with psychological thriller Athiran. The film, which is sandwiched between the holdover box-office thunder Lucifer, and another big star release in Madhura Raja, has earned a decent total of Rs 2 cr in two days from Kerala and is performing well in multiplexes. Directed by debutant Vivek, Athiran has not released anywhere else in the world except Kerala. While the North America release is scheduled for April 18, the film will hit the UAE-GCC screens on 25 April. Prithviraj’s debut directorial Lucifer which had been ruling the box-office until last week has comfortably vaulted over the Rs 110 cr gross mark from worldwide theatrical revenue in 18 days. It has now become the tenth highest grossing Indian film in the GCC region with a mind-blowing total of $5.33 million (Rs 37 cr) and is the only second film from south India to enter the top ten grossers list after Baahubali: The Conclusion. While the Shiva Nirvana-directed romance drama Majili has breached past the Rs 50 cr mark in worldwide theatrical receipts, new release Chitralahari, which stars Sai Dharam Tej, Kalyani Priyadarshan and Nivetha Pethuraj in lead roles, has collected an estimated gross of Rs 16.4 cr worldwide in three days. The film’s theatrical rights were valued at Rs 14 cr and it has to sustain well this week to become a profitable venture for all stakeholders. [caption id=“attachment_6441681” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Naga Chaitanya; Samantha Akkineni[/caption] Tamil film Natpe Thunai has secured a cumulative total of Rs 18.2 cr in TN after the completion of 11 days in theatres. The film has pulled in nearly Rs 2.33 cr in Chennai city. New releases such as Watchman and Gangs of Madras earned only negligible numbers at the TN box-office while Natpe Thunai became the fifth highest-grossing film of the state in 2019 after Viswasam, Petta, Thadam, and Dhillukku Dhuddu 2.