Prabhas' The Raja Saab finally ends Dhurandhar's 35-day box office dominance with just morning show earnings

The Raja Saab box office collections have crossed ₹6 crore after just the film's morning shows on opening day, enabling it to cross Dhurandhar with ease.

Ranveer Singh’s Dhurandhar rewrote record books during its glorious five-week run at the box office, as it not only held off new releases, but refused to see any major dip in earnings day after day. But like all good things, this run also came to an end. And it took a superstar of Prabhas’ stature to do it. The Telugu star’s recent release, The Raja Saab, has snatched the crown of the number 1 film at the Indian box office from Dhurandhar after 35 days. What is impressive is that it managed it before 10 am on the opening day itself.

The Raja Saab: Prabhas plays the titular role in the Maruthi horror comedy.

The Raja Saab opening day collection

The Raja Saab, Prabhas’ first film in two years, is a horror comedy, the actor’s first foray in this genre. By 10 am on Friday, the film’s release day, trade sources said that the film had earned over ₹6 crore net. This earning comes just from paid previews on Thursday evening and early morning shows. The figure has surpassed Dhurandhar's total full-day collection from Thursday. The Aditya Dhar film had earned ₹4.25 crore net on Thursday, its 35th day in the theatres. With this, The Raja Saab is certain to be the new number 1 film at the Indian box office, at least till Vijay’s Jana Nayagan releases.

The Raja Saab has released in Telugu, Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, and Kannada. According to trade pundits, the film is expected to soar past the ₹60-crore mark in domestic earnings on the first day. It received a boost on the eve of its release as Vijay’s Jana Nayagan was postponed, which gave it 250 additional screens in Tamil Nadu. In the absence of a big Tamil release on Friday, this could lead to The Raja Saab earning more than projected in Tamil.

Jana Nayagan finally received its CBFC certification on Friday morning, which paves the way for its release. While its makers have not formally announced when the film will release, it is expected to hit the screens before Pongal (Wednesday) to capitalise on the festival. That is the day The Raja Saab may lose its throne once again. But for now, it remains the numero uno film at the domestic box office.

All about The Raja Saab

Directed by Maruthi, The Raja Saab also stars Sanjay Dutt, Malavika Mohanan, Riddhi Kumar, Boman Irani, and Zarina Wahab. The film released in theatres on January 9, ahead of the Sankranti weekend. It marks Prabhas’ return to the family entertainer genre.