STR-starrer Vandha Rajavathan Varuven earns Rs 8 cr in Tamil Nadu; F2 makes Rs 75 cr worldwide

STR’s family drama Vandha Rajavathan Varuven, which hit the screens on 1 February, has earned a dismal total of Rs 8 cr in home state Tamil Nadu in its opening weekend. The Sundar C-directed film received average reviews from critics even as STR fans celebrated it on social media platforms. The movie, produced by Lyca Productions, has earned a domestic total of around Rs 9 cr from the opening weekend. [caption id=“attachment_6036261” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  STR in a still from Vandha Rajavathan Varuven. Image via Twitter/@frustratedguy4[/caption] An official remake of Pawan Kalyan’s blockbuster film Attarintiki Daredi, Vandha Rajavathan Varuven stars Megha Akash and Catherine Tresa as lead heroines. The ongoing weekdays are going to be crucial for the film as more movies have been lined up for release over the next weeks. Although director Ram’s Peranbu, which released alongside VRV, received a rapturous response from critics, the film is struggling to rake in the moolah at the TN box office. However, the emotional drama, starring Mammootty in the lead role, is doing good at the Kerala box office. The three-day opening weekend domestic gross of the film is said to be approximately Rs 3.4 cr. Peranbu, despite the rave reviews, has only collected Rs 21 lakhs in Chennai city. Various celebrities like Vignesh Shivan, KS Ravikumar, Sivakarthikeyan, Pa. Ranjith, and Kiruthiga Udhayanidhi to name a few have showered lavish praise on the film, which may gather steam in the weekdays now. Another film which received good reviews from critics in K’town last Friday was GV Prakash’s musical drama Sarvam Thaala Mayam, helmed by filmmaker Rajiv Menon. The AR Rahman musical pulled in a total of Rs 55 lakhs from Chennai in the opening weekend and occupied the second spot at the city box-office. Everyone has hailed GV Prakash’s performance in the film, which also stars Nedumudi Venu in a significant role, as his career best. In Tollywood, holdover film Mr Majnu has been declared a disaster at the box-office with a worldwide share of just Rs 10.4 cr in one week. The film, which featured Akhil Akkineni and Nidhhi Agerwal as leads, was panned by critics, and its theatrical rights were valued at Rs 24 cr. Now, the Venky Atluri directorial has failed to collect even 50 percent of the investment, making it a loss for distributors. Meanwhile, holdover blockbuster F2 - Fun and Frustration has become the most profitable film among all the medium-budget projects in Tollywood ever. The Venkatesh, Varun Tej-starring comedy-drama has amassed a worldwide distributor share of Rs 75 cr. It has dethroned the global share of Pawan Kalyan’s Attarintiki Daredi to emerge as the ninth highest profitable film of all-time in Telugu cinema. The worldwide rights of the Anil Ravipudi directed comedy were pegged at Rs 32 cr, and the film’s double blockbuster status has provided an excellent kickstart to Tollywood in 2019. The final numbers of Ram Charan’s commercial potboiler Vinaya Vidheya Rama have come in and are certainly not encouraging at all for the actor who delivered a prominent industry hit in 2018 through Rangasthalam. The worldwide theatrical rights of the film were valued at Rs 90 cr, and the film has only earned a meager lifetime global share of Rs 64 cr with just 70 percent recovery. Directed by Boyapati Srinu and produced by DVV Danayya, Vinaya Vidheya Rama was at the receiving end of memelords and ruthlessly trolled by netizens for the portrayal of a bevy of gravity-defying scenes in the film. It’s been declared a flop by the trade. NTR: Kathanayakudu, helmed by director Krish, has been declared a massive disaster. While the worldwide theatrical rights of the film, which features a star cast comprising Vidya Balan, Rana Daggubati, Manjima Mohan, Poonam Bajwa, and Sumanth to name a few, were valued at Rs 70 cr, the film has earned a poor lifetime global share of Rs 21 cr.