New Delhi:
Filmmaker SS Rajamouli's
Baahubali - The Beginning released last Friday to a stupendous run at the box office, with the weekend collection amounting to above Rs 100 crores. The filmmaker, overwhelmed, took to microblogging site Twitter to thank his supporters:
The 'backlash' that Rajamouli refers to could be the film's relative no-show in Kerala where it released in just 50 screens instead of the planned 200 after the state's Film Exhibitors' Federation objected on the grounds that it would harm the prospects of Malayalam-language film.
Baahubali released globally in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi.
However, none of this has stopped
Baahubali from gathering steam with box office receipts totaling up to about Rs 120 crores worldwide, with the Karan Johar-presented Hindi version contributing Rs 28. 3 crores.
Trade analyst Taran Adarsh tweeted:
Baahubali, a two-part epic starring Prabhas and Rana Daggubatti, is heavy on VFX. Rajamouli also declared himself humbled by the fact that many celebs had good words for the first half of his magnum opus:
Here's what they said:
While the numbers thus far are encouraging,
Baahubali has a while to go before it can claim to be in the green. The film may have managed to cross the Rs 100-crore barrier in a mere weekend but it needs to make at least three times that amount for it to break even, let alone post profits. Both parts of
Baahubali have collectively been made on a budget of Rs 250 crores.
Theatre managers have revealed that people are buying tickets for the film in black and, as the show concludes, they want to see it again. One manager said they have sold tickets worth Rs 5000 for the 9 am shows, adding that "this has never happened before." He also said that the dubbed version of the film has done well in Mumbai . "All five shows are full and booked in advance. And I think it will have a full house for another two weeks. It will get affected by
Bajrangi Bhaijaan's release (on July 17) for sure, but to collect this amount, I think this picture will do well," he added.
Baahubali - The Conclusion is slated for 2016 release.
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