After suffering a slow start in Kerala, "Baahubali" has picked up momentum at the box office in the state. According to reports, the movie has managed to collected ₹2.55 crore from 150 screens.
#Baahubali - Kerala - July 10 - 12 = Rs 2.55 Cr gross from 150 screens. Very Good considering it opened with 60 screens. #GlobalUnitedMedia
— Sreedhar Pillai (@sri50) July 13, 2015
The collections of "Baahubali" are good considering the setback the film faced on its opening day due to a strike call given by Kerala Film Exhibitors Federation. The distributors of "Baahubali", United Global Media, had planned for the wide release of the movie in more than hundred screens, but this was reduced to about 60 screens on its opening day (10 July).
However, the strike was called off on 11 July (Saturday) and like in other parts of the country, "Baahubali" fever took over Kerala as well.
The strike by Kerala Film Exhibitors Federation faced lot of criticism from other film-based associations and had also led to a series of discussions in the state. As per reports, nearly 25 theatre owners, who are part of the Federation, had defied the strike call and screened the movie.
Meanwhile, trade experts believe that "Baahubali" will create a new wave in Kerala box office the way Vikram's "I" managed to do. "I", which was released on 14 January, rewrote the history of Tamil cinema in Kerala. The movie managed to gross ₹10.73 crore from 225 screens in five days with nett collection of ₹8.58 crore.
It must be noted that most of the theatres in Kerala are screening "Baahubali" in Tamil, though the film has also been dubbed in Malayalam. "Baahubali" directed by SS Rajamouli stars Prabhas, Rana Dagubbatti and Tamannaah Bhatia in the lead.
