The highly anticipated and Covid-delayed release of the Indian action film RRR opened with a bang when distributor Sarigami Cinemas said it grossed $4.5 million, which includes late-night and early-morning shows, and was expecting $12-$15 million for the weekend.
Read the deadline review here.
That would be the biggest Thursday ever for an Indian film in the US, with 947 filming locations to date. Telugu-Hindi production of Helmer SS Ramajouli opened in five languages with 1,040 locations and more than 5,000 screens.
This is director-writer Ramajouli beating his own record, 2017’s epic action-adventure Baahubali 2: The Conclusion. This film, a sibling rivalry set in medieval India and filmed in Telugu and Tamil, was a sequel to Baahubali: The Beginning. Ramajouli’s huge following chooses RRR.
According to Comscore data available for Baahubali 2, it grossed $4.6 million on opening Friday (Thursday previews were likely folded into opening day) with an opening weekend of $10.4 million.
The three-hour RRR, including intermission, is offered at special prices.
The film was scheduled to be released in early January and $2 million in advance tickets had to be returned to customers when the release was delayed due to Omicron, Sarigami said. The premiere was originally scheduled for 2020 and then 2021.
The story takes place in New Delhi in the 1920s in the midst of the Indian freedom movement. It revolves around two revolutionaries – an angry young policeman Raju (Ram Charam), who is both revered and feared by the British, and Bheem (NT Rama Rao Jr.), a humble tribal boy who has come to town to help to save his kidnapped niece. It is said to be one of the biggest budget Indian films of all time.
As Deadline reported last month, the genre has helped fill a gap at the box office this winter and spring, entering multiplexes amid a shortage of new releases and playing on a handful of screens simultaneously in at least three languages, including Hindi, Telugu and Tamil. (They are the only foreign films not to play art houses.) Telugu Hindi period romantic drama Radhe Shyam got off to a strong start on March 11 on 750 screens, already a well above average release for an Indian film (albeit below RRRs) and indeed the widest this weekend.
Up to two or three India films can arrive with India every weekend day to day now that Covid has eased.
Indian audiences typically do not rely on traditional film marketing, but word of mouth from overseas families coupled with community grassroots marketing, often driven by favorite stars and directors. They are usually loaded in advance and are booked for one week at a time.