Superstar Rajinikanth's "Kabali" opened to an earth-shattering response at the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana (AP/T) box office on Friday and has made decent collection on Saturday (second day).
Rajinikanth is the most popular Tamil actor in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Most of his previous films were dubbed in Telugu, released in a large number of theatres and got a good response in these states. The Telugu promos of his latest outing "Kabali" had generated lot of curiosity among the film goers in these states. The hype surrounding it was almost equal to that of any Tollywood superstar's film.
In a bid to cash in on the Rajini mania, the makers of "Kabali" did massive promotion for the film in these states, where the film was released in over 550 screens. The hype and promotion helped the movie register good advance booking for its opening day. Trade experts predicted that the film would definitely start with a bang and shatter the records of all old dubbed movies.
The screening of "Kabali" began in the wee hours in locations in these states and the film ran to packed houses everywhere. The movie witnessed same response in the regular morning, matinee, afternoon and evening shows. The film registered 100 percent occupancy in most of the single screens and multiplexes in these shows.
"Kabali" collected Rs. 12.40 crore gross at the AP/T box office on the first day and its net-collection Rs. 11 crore. The Pa. Ranjith-directed gangster movie earned Rs. 9.26 crore for the distributors. The movie has become the biggest opener for Rajinikanth in these states, beating the records of "Linga," which was holding this position previously with its gross collection Rs. 7+ crore (Rs. 5 crore share).
The Rajinikanth starrer received mixed reviews from the critics and audience and trade experts predicted that the word of mouth would take a toll on its collection on Saturday. But the movie maintained rock-steady and registered an average of 80 percent occupancy everywhere. It ran to packed house in many locations.
But unlike on its opening day, the Thanu-produced movie did not have extra shows and it witnessed over 40 percent drop in its collection on Saturday. As per early estimates, "Kabali" has collected approximately Rs 7.50 crore at the AP/T box office on its second day. It is estimated to have earned Rs 5.50 crore for its distributors.
"Kabali" has collected approximately Rs 19.90 crore at the AP/T box office in two days and it has earned Rs 14.76 crore for its distributors, who have reportedly shelled out Rs 32 crore on its theatrical rights. The movie has recovered around 45 percent of the investment of its distributors in two days.
