Pawan Kalyan is one star hero who has multiplied his image and fan base over the years even after not scoring a hit for almost a decade. He doesn’t need star directors as his name itself is enough to lure distributors to bet big. But, it seems that buyers have taken another big risk by investing heavily on the actor’s upcoming film ‘Katamarayudu’.
According to reliable sources, Katamarayudu has fetched around Rs 87 Cr from its theatrical rights only.
Nizam – 20cr
Ceded – 12.06cr
Nellore – 2.75cr
Guntur – 6cr
Krishna – 4.6cr
West – 4.7cr
East – 5.86cr
Uttharandhra – 8.3cr
Total AP & TG – 64.27cr
Karnataka – 8.2cr
Rest of India – 3cr
Overseas – 11.5cr
Total Worldwide theatrical rights – Rs 87cr
This is the 4th highest after Baahubali 2 parts and Khaidi No.150. If we add the satellite, audio, video, DVD and other rights, the total pre-release business will touch Rs 110 Cr, which will be the third highest after Baahubali series and the second film of Pawan to do Rs 100 Cr pre-release business.
Have the buyers forgot what a big disaster Pawan’s earlier film ‘Sardaar Gabbar Singh’ was? The film had done just a few crores less business than Katamarayudu and distributors lost almost Rs 40 Cr on it.
After a gigantic failure like Sardaar, no one expected that Katamarayudu, which was a remake having neither a star director nor a star music director, would do such record breaking business. For the record, this has become possible only because of Pawan factor.
In fact, the film’s business was very dull until the arrival of the film’s teaser. Just a few goosebump giving shots in the teaser changed everything. Buyers seem to have forgot the fiasco of Saradar and competed to grab the rights of Katamarayudu.
Pawan’s new look, Rayalaseema faction backdrop, Shruti Haasan factor etc. are positives but the charisma of Pawan needs to work big time to recover such high amounts. Being the first biggie of this Summer is another advantage.
Another encouraging factor for distributors is the mammoth success of Khaidi No.150, which collected Rs 100Cr share from only theatricals even amidst competition from two other successful films.
