Saaho fetches third biggest pre-release theatrical business after 2.0 and Baahubali 2, estimated at Rs 290 cr

Audiences are gearing up for the biggest multi-lingual release this week with Prabhas’ Saaho in Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi on 30 August. The film’s worldwide pre-release theatrical rights are estimated to be a whopping Rs 290 cr. Directed by Sujeeth and produced by UV Creations, the AP/T rights for the film are valued at Rs 124 cr. Saaho has fetched the third-highest pre-release theatrical for any film after 2.0 and Baahubali 2. The action magnum-opus will have to earn a worldwide total of Rs 600 cr from theatrical sales to be declared a hit venture. Meanwhile, after dethroning Thala Ajith’s Nerkonda Paarvai for the four-day Independence Day weekend, Jayam Ravi’s Comali has once again topped the TN box office with an excellent second weekend total of Rs 9.28 cr. The film’s running total in Tamil Nadu until the second weekend on 25 August is estimated as Rs 38 cr. After registering the highest opening day and best opening weekend numbers for Jayam Ravi in his career, Comali, along with Nerkonda Paarvai, has brought back the footfalls to Tamil Nadu theatres. [caption id=“attachment_6805571” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Prabhas in a still from Saaho[/caption] Directed by Pradeep Ranganathan and produced by Vels Film International, Comali is now the fifth top-grossing Tamil film of 2019 after Viswasam, Petta, Nerkonda Paaravai and Kanchana 3. The movie which was distributed by Sakthi Film Factory in Tamil Nadu marks their second consecutive association with Vels Film International after the superhit LKG. Comali also marks Jayam Ravi’s third successive hit film at the box office after Tik Tik Tik and Adanga Maru. Thala Ajith’s Nerkonda Paarvai earned a third weekend total of Rs 82 lakhs in TN box-office, taking the film’s cumulative theatrical gross to Rs 72 cr. Nerkonda Paarvai successfully sprinted past the Rs 100 cr worldwide gross mark in less than two weeks of theatrical run despite being a niche film. Directed by Vinoth of Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru fame and produced by Boney Kapoor, the film’s Chennai city gross is estimated as Rs 10.46 cr from 18 days. The film, which starred Shraddha Srinath in the role reprised by Taapsee Pannu in Pink, came at the fourth position in the Chennai city weekend box-office chart after Sasikumar’s Kennedy Club and The Angry Birds Movie 2. “We had our apprehensions regarding the box-office performance of Nerkonda Paarvai. The exhibitors were thinking whether the film would suit Ajith’s action hero image on the screen. But the movie has performed brilliantly at the box-office and has surprised everyone. The masses have completely embraced the film and its theme,” said senior distributor Tiruppur Subramaniam in a recent media interaction. [caption id=“attachment_7116271” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Shraddha Srinath and Ajith in a still from Nerkonda Paarvai[/caption] Holdover Telugu release Evaru, an adaptation of Spanish thriller The Invisible Guest, has reportedly earned a worldwide share of Rs 9.5 cr in twelve days. The film starring Advisesh and Regina Cassandra in the lead roles received rave reviews from the critics. Although the movie has reached the break-even point in overseas markets, Evaru’s footfalls in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana dropped in the weekdays after the decent opening weekend performance. The mega-blockbuster success of Malayalam film Thanneer Mathan Dinangal helmed by newcomer Girish AD is one of the biggest stories of this week. The movie has earned a massive cumulative total of Rs 50 cr from worldwide theatrical receipts and is now the fourth highest-earning film of 2019 in Kerala after Lucifer, Madhura Raja, and Kumbalangi Nights. The coming-of-age high-school drama was made on a shoestring budget of Rs 2 cr, and has yielded a massive 400% recovery for investors.