Billed to be India’s biggest blockbuster, the movie Baahubali 2: The Conclusion is set to cross Rs 1,000 crore in box office collections if the first two days’ revenues are any indication. The film, which is based on the fictional kingdom of Mahishmati created by writer Vijayendra Prasad and directed by S.S. Rajamouli, is heavily loaded with world class visual effects from all over, including the United States.
The film made in Telugu, Hindi, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam grossed around Rs 180 crore on the first day of its release on Friday and is expected to net another Rs 250 crore in the next two days by Sunday. Trends suggest that close to 6,500 screens in India and another 1,200 screens abroad have advanced bookings until 3 May.
The first two days of the movie screening were marred by piracy versions doing the rounds in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu markets and the sale of tickets in the black market. Policemen in Hyderabad, Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam arrested around 40 persons, including eight theatre executives, on charges of selling Rs 100-Rs 150 tickets for Rs 2,000 each.
Made on a budget of around Rs 190 crore for the two parts put together, Baahubali: The Beginning, which was the first part, released on 10 July 2015, collected around Rs 600 crore. As the second part, Baahubali 2: The Conclusion is estimated to cross Rs 1,000 crore, the two-part film is likely to touch revenues of around Rs 1,600 crore, which is a record of sorts for 100 plus years of Indian cinema.
According to sources in the film’s production house, Arka Media Works, based out of Hyderabad, Baahubali 2, of the Rs 180 crore business on the first day of its release, Rs 40 crore came from the Hindi cinema market, while another Rs 80 crore from the two Telugu states—Andhra Pradesh and Telangana—followed by Rs 20 crore each from Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam markets.
“We are still collecting details of the collections from different markets and distribution areas. A full picture is expected by Monday,” a marketing head at Arka told this newspaper on Saturday. Arka Media is looking after the markets in the South; the Hindi market is being taken care of by Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions, Mumbai.
The movie opened to huge queues for advance booking. The queues began on Wednesday and special and preview shows took place on Thursday night. Many big corporates and business houses made bulk purchases of tickets and tagged them to combo offers for their sales. For example, a leading restaurant in Hyderabad distributed a Baahubali 2 ticket of Rs 150 for every bill of Rs 500.
The film opened to packed audience in the United States, where its tickets were sold at $60 per couple. Those in the United Kingdom were sold at £50 for a couple. The film opened to 90% occupancy in the UAE, Bahrain, Australia and Singapore too.
The producers, Shobhu Yarlagadda and Prasad Devineni are immensely pleased with the response to the film. Prasad, who turned up for the premiere of Baahubali 2 at Prasad IMAX in Hyderabad on Thursday night, told the media that they were not tense over the fate of the film. Dozens of those who watched the movie greeted him.
Telugu film hero Prabhas, nephew of former Union minister Krishnam Raju, has played the lead role. Opposite him is Rana Daggubati, grandson of popular producer and Dabasaheb Phalke award winner, the late D. Rama Naidu. Anushka Shetty, Tamannah Bhatia, Ramya Krishna, Satya Raj and Nazar are the other lead actors.
As many as 16 of director Rajamouli’s family members, took part in the film in different ways. If his father Vijayendra Prasad provided the story (he also wrote the story for Bajrangi Bhaijaan), his cousin M.M. Keeravani is the music director. Rajamouli’s wife Rama is the costume designer. The first part also won a Padma Shri and a national award for Rajamouli. Keeravani’s wife Valli and children and cousins of their families were associated with the production of the two parts of the film for about four years. The film was mostly shot at Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad, but its VFX effects were outsourced from as many as 33 studios across the world, including 22 from the US. Senthil Kumar is the cinematographer of the film.