Karnataka has turned out to be the second biggest market for Baahubali 2 (Bahubali 2) in South India. Yes, the movie, with its four versions, has minted close to Rs 20 crore on its opening day.
As per trade reports, the Prabhas and Rana Daggubati-starrer was released in around 400 screens in Karnataka on Friday, April 28. Despite confusions over the ticket price, which ranged from Rs 250 to Rs 1000 in Bengaluru, the movie registered never-before-seen response for the advance booking resulting in an earth-shattering opening in Bengaluru and Telugu-dominant regions of the state.
The major chunk of its share has come from the BKT (Bengaluru, Tumakuru and Kolar) and Hyderabad-Karnataka regions. Also in Hindi-dominant places of North Karnataka, the film has reportedly attracted good viewership.
However, reports are emerging from places like Mandya that the shows of the movie had a countable number of audience. Nonetheless, the majority of the centres witnessed good turnout of the audience, giving it a great opening, which is said to be bigger than the Kannada films.
Yes, the trade experts say that no movie has minted close to Rs 20 crore in Karnataka and the release of the movie in multiple languages ensured that the movie registered such an opening. Also, the exorbitant rates helped the movie to achieve such a feat, say industry insiders.
Baahubali 2, which also has Anushka Shetty and Tamannaah Bhatia, has minted Rs 58 crore in Andhra and Telangana, Rs 11 crore from Tamil Nadu and Rs 6.27 crore in Kerala.
Prior to release, confusions over the ticket price prevailed when Sa Ra Govindu, the president of Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce, announced that a cap of Rs 200 was being implemented with immediate effect and theatre owners should refund the excess amount collected by the audience. Surprisingly, the rule was not implemented.
However, it is most likely to be implemented from next week. This is likely to end the dream run of Baahubali 2 in Karnataka.
It may be recalled that the movie had run into trouble before its release when Kannada groups demanded a ban on the film over an old comment made by Sathyaraj, who plays an important role in the flick.
