Prabhas has returned to form in a grand style. The Telugu superstar had been reeling due to back-to-back box office failures over the last five years. But Salaar seems to have bucked the trend. The film opened in theatres worldwide today (December 22) and has gone on to shatter all collection records, making it the biggest opening of the year in Indian cinema.
Salaar Part 1: CeaseFire, directed by Prashanth Neel has ridden on Prabhas’ star power, as well as the presence of Prithviraj Sukumaran, to register strong openings across India, as well as overseas. The film being dubbed in Hindi, Malayalam, Kannada, and Tamil – apart from its original Telugu – has helped its pan-India appeal. According to trade tracker Sacnilk, the film is expected to open at Rs 95 crore net in India alone, the highest by any film in the country this year.
In addition, trade sources say that Salaar is expected to gross somewhere in the range of $5million overseas on day one. This gives the film a worldwide gross in excess of Rs 150 crore, a mark untouched by any other Indian film this year. Prabhas is, in fact, breaking his own record. His previous release Adipurush had opened to Rs 140 crore worldwide. Shah Rukh Khan’s Jawan had an opening day of Rs 129 crore while his other film Pathaan had opened to Rs 105 crore. Ranbir Kapoor-starrer Animal is the only other 100-crore opener from the year.
Salaar’s team – Hombale Films – has released a statement saying the film has grossed Rs 175 crore worldwide but the final figures are yet to be verified. In any case, Salaar is conveniently the biggest opening Indian film of the year. Positive reviews mean that the film can build on word of mouth and go from strength to strength now.
Salaar: Part 1: Ceasefire features Prabhas along with Prithviraj Sukumaran, Shruti Haasan, and Jagapathi Babu. Made under the direction of Prashanth Neel, the film was produced by Vijay Kiragandur.
