Saaho sails past Rs 300 cr worldwide, dethrones Maharshi to become highest-grossing Telugu film of 2019

Prabhas’ magnum opus  _Saaho_, which released worldwide on 30 August, has amassed a massive opening weekend gross of Rs 276 crore from global theatrical sales. Currently, Saaho is the third highest-grossing film of all time in the history of Tollywood after Baahubali: The Conclusion and Baahubali: The Beginning. Directed by Sujeeth and produced by UV Creations, Saaho opened to poor reviews from critics across the board when it released last Friday. Saaho registered the second-biggest opening for any Indian film ever with a fantastic opening day total of Rs 126 crore and a distributor share of Rs 74 crore. Now, Prabhas has become the only hero to feature in all of the top three highest-earning films in Telugu cinema. In just three days, Saaho has dethroned Mahesh Babu’s Maharshi to become the top-grossing title of 2019 in Tollywood. It became the second movie to sail past the Rs 100 crore gross in worldwide theatrical revenue on opening day after SS Rajamouli’s Baahubali 2. On opening day, Saaho set new benchmarks in Nizam and Nellore territories. [caption id=“attachment_6805571” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Prabhas in a still from Saaho[/caption] In Tamil Nadu, Saaho has received a below-par opening with a gross of Rs 7.61 crore from the opening weekend for all versions. The four day total of Saaho in Tamil Nadu is estimated to be close to Rs 10 crore and the stakeholders are likely to incur losses in the state. Saaho topped the Tamil Nadu box office comfortably by surpassing holdover Tamil blockbuster Comali. In four days, Saaho has comfortably sprinted past the Rs 300 crore global total and Prabhas has become the only hero after Rajinikanth to feature in three Rs 300 cr club projects. Saaho garnered a fantastic gross of $861,698 in the USA from premieres alone. On 30 August, the film entered the million-dollar club. In two days, Saaho touched the $2 million mark and became the third film of Prabhas to achieve the feat after Baahubali: The Conclusion and Baahubali: The Beginning. Saaho has supplanted Srimanthudu and Rangasthalam to become the fourth-fastest Telugu film to enter the $2 million club in the USA after Baahubali 2, Baahubali and Bharat Ane Nenu. The movie capitalized on the Labour Day holiday in the USA on 2 September and has zoomed past $2.5 million mark stateside. Currently, Saaho is the fourth highest-grossing title of all-time from South Indian cinema after Baahubali 2, 2.0 and Baahubali. Saaho shattered records in RTC X Roads in Hyderabad to haul in more than Rs 1 crore in theatrical receipts from just four days. Interestingly, Saaho has performed well in the UAE/GCC territory compared to the relatively significant USA market. While the opening weekend gross of the UAE/GCC region is estimated as Rs 19 crore, the USA total of the film is pegged at Rs 17 crore. In three days, Saaho has collected a massive total of $8 million (Rs 56 cr) in overseas markets alone. Major contributions to the film’s foreign earnings have come from the USA and the UAE/GCC territories. The Hindi version of the film has contributed the lion’s share of the worldwide theatrical earnings with a gross of close to Rs 107 crore in four days. The movie collected Rs 102.38 crore in just five days. In fact, Saaho surpassed the likes of holdover Hollywood blockbusters such as The Lion King and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood to occupy the second spot at the worldwide box office for the weekend of 30 August 30 to 1 September, only behind Hobbs & Shaw, which topped the global box office with a cumulative total of $45 million. Holdover Tamil film Comali, starring Jayam Ravi and Kajal Aggarwal, has earned a remarkably third weekend gross of Rs 3.11 crore, taking the film’s running total in Tamil Nadu to Rs 41.2 crore. While Saaho has turned out to be a damp squib at the TN box-office, screens are likely to be shifted to this week’s new releases in Gautham Menon - Dhanush’s Enai Nokki Paayum Thotta and Arya - Santha Kumar of Mounaguru fame’s Magaamuni.