Malayalam superstar Mohanlal's Telugu film Manyam Puli received a good opening and turned a big money spinner at the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana (AP/T) box office in the first weekend.
Mohanlal recently made his grand comeback to Tollywood with Manamantha, which was a hit at the AP/T box office. He was next seen playing a prominent role in Jr NTR's Telugu film, Janatha Garage, which became a blockbuster at the box office. Both the movies won a large number for fans for the Malayalam superstar in the Telugu speaking states.
Mohanlal's latest outing, Manyam Puli, is the Telugu version of his blockbuster Malayalam film, Puli Murugan, which collected Rs 125 crore gross at the box office. The makers thought that the film has a universal subject, which would appeal to the Telugu audience. Hence, they dubbed the movie in Telugu and released it in theatres across the Telugu speaking states to cash in on his popularity there.
Manyam Puli had a decent hype generated by its promos and the makers shelled out a hefty sum on its promotions in the states. The Telugu version of Puli Murugan was released in over 500 screens in the Telugu-speaking states as well as Karnataka and opened to a good response everywhere. The word-of-mouth publicity helped the movie remain strong at ticket counters on Saturday and Sunday.
Despite clashing with Vijay Antony's Bethaludu, Manyam Puli collected approximately Rs 2.25 crore at the box office in the first weekend. The movie is estimated to have earned Rs 1.25 crore for its distributors in three days. The film has landed at the second place, while Bethaludu topped the Southern film business chart this weekend.
Saraswathi Films had competed with a few other distribution houses and acquired the theatrical rights of Manyam Puli for Rs 1 crore. The distribution house reportedly spent Rs 1 crore on its publicity. The movie recovered 62.50 percent of the investment of the distributors in the opening weekend and is expected to get back the remaining amount by the end of the first week.
