 "Rangasthalam opening week box office collection: Ram Charan-starrer creates record worldwide, only second to Baahubali")
It has been over a week since the release of Ram Charan’s rural revenge drama
Rangasthalam
and the film is in no mood to slow down at the box office as it continues to crunch numbers domestically and internationally. [caption id=“attachment_4395655” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]
Samantha Akkineni and Ram Charan in a still from Rangasthalam. YouTube[/caption] With over Rs 130 crore in earnings from its first week worldwide, the film has given Telugu industry its first major blockbuster of the year and a much needed boost from the trade perspective to kick off the summer season in style. As big ticket films such as
Bharat Ane Nenu
and
Naa Peru Surya
are gearing up for release, the box office start Rangasthalam has given is beyond exceptional and trade pundits believe it will work in favour of the industry. “The year didn’t start on a great note for Telugu industry following the disaster of Pawan Kalyan’s
Agnyaathavaasi
. While there were a few hits such as
Bhaagamathie
and
Tholiprema,
the industry badly needed a big scale blockbuster which thankfully, came in the form of Rangasthalam at the right time. Had Rangasthalam failed at the box office, it would’ve affected the subsequent summer releases such as Bharat Ane Nenu and Naa Peru Surya,” trade analyst Trinath told Firstpost. (Also read — Telugu cinema 2018 Quarter 1 box office report: Bhaagamathie, Tholiprema, Chalo come to the rescue)
Though made on a lavish budget, Sukumar-directed Rangasthalam, set in a fictional village in the 1980s, opened to unbelievable numbers. It is already the highest grossing film in Ram Charan’s career. “The film has done exceptionally well region-wise in Telugu states. It has already beaten the life-time distributor shares of Chiranjeevi’s Khaidi No 150 and Mahesh Babu’s Srimanthudu. Rangasthalam has set a
new non-Baahubali record
as the highest grossing Telugu film,” a distributor said on the condition of anonymity. Trinath went on to add that Rangasthalam, which features Ram Charan in the role of a small time village mechanic with a hearing impairment, has done exceptionally well in the USA. “With over $2500,000 and counting, it is the third biggest grosser in the US after Baahubali 1 and 2. It should easily breach into the $3 million club by this weekend,” he said, adding that the success of Rangasthalam will widen the market of Ram Charan who is on a career high with showers of praise from all quarters for his performance. Bowled over by Charan’s performance, Jr NTR said that no other actor could have done this role better than Ram Charan.
Mahesh Babu on Saturday said Rangasthalam features Ram Charan and Samantha in their career-best performances. Filmmaker SS Rajamouli on Saturday raved about Rangasthalam.
Director Sukumar is buoyed by this success. “We were sure the film will be well received. We were confident. But we didn’t expect this kind of response and it’s been unanimous. Even outside Telugu states, the numbers have been very healthy. I’m thrilled by this success,” he told Firstpost. Rangasthalam has set records outside Telugu states as well. In Tamil Nadu, the film grossed around Rs 3 crore in its first week and is currently only behind Baahubali 1 and 2 in the state. In Karnataka, the film grossed over Rs 10 crore in its opening week. “Rangasthalam entered its second week with over 180 screens in Karnataka, which is huge for a Telugu film. No Telugu film after Baahubali 1 and 2 had this kind of craze in its second week,” a Bangalore-based distributor said. Trade sources say the success of Rangasthalam will hugely benefit Ram Charan’s next outing with Rajamouli. The yet-untitled project marks the first time collaboration of Charan and Jr NTR. Distributors will be ready to bet big on the film following the success of Rangasthalam. (Also read: With Rangasthalam, Ram Charan ’the actor’ finally arrives — long overdue after SS Rajamouli’s career-defining Magadheera)