Icon Star Allu Arjun’s Pushpa has had a terrific weekend at the box office. As we mentioned previously, it has thrown huge surprises in unexpected areas. Everything was on expected lines in the Telugu states and (Telugu version) overseas. However, the real test begins from the first Monday, and one has to say there is a worrying sign for sure.
What worked to the advantage of Pushpa in Nizam over the weekend is now proving to be a disadvantage. It will always be the case when word of mouth is short of a blockbuster. Even hit movies will show drops if the prices aren’t reduced. Pushpa doesn’t have that talk, as well.
The morning and matinees saw a drop in collection across the board (Hyderabad city and districts). It is somewhat significant because it comes after an extraordinary weekend. Pushpa created a new record for each day.
Still, the evening shows are better, and if Pushpa maintains the same trend for the rest of the week, it would be a good week overall. Pushpa has to collect more than 36 Cr to break even, and it’s already past halfway comfortably.
Comparatively, the Andhra Pradesh territories were steadier (first Monday). It is expected given the lower prices. And therein lay the catch. The distribution prices are huge. It would mean the film must be steady for a prolonged period to achieve breakeven. It won’t be easy for a movie with average talk to sustain that long, even if the holidays boost the numbers.
Pushpa needs 66 Cr to break even in Andhra and Ceded territories. So far, it has not even reached the halfway mark. As one can see, there is a long way to go and hence the drops would be a worrying sign.
The story is the same in the US. Pushpa has collected $1.62 Million so far. It needs $2.8 Million to break even. The movie has to have a long steady run to reach the mark. It would be a challenging task with multiple films ahead (Telugu and other languages). Watch this space for further updates on the box office and trade updates on Pushpa.
