'Baahubali: The Conclusion' Weekend Box Office Collection Is Epic, Crosses $65M In Three Days


The makers of Baahubali: The Conclusion are enjoying a windfall gain. Until now, any Indian film crossing $65 million in box-office earnings on the third day of its release was unthinkable, an almost impossible task. However, it looks as though the unthinkable has happened. In three days since its release on April 28, the giant commercial undertaking — Baahubali: The Conclusion — has earned $67 million worldwide, according to India Today.
Baahubali: The Beginning, the impressive first chunk, was built towards a literal cliffhanger, with Baahubali (“the one with strong arms”) played by Prabhas, embodying several legends for the price of one, knifed in the back by a trusted warrior (Kattappa) on the mountain. The Conclusion, another thunderous spectacle, rewinds back into this narrative in the first half, with quite some explaining to do on why Kattappa killed the eponymous hero. For almost two years, this question has generated frenzy that J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books did few years ago. The sequel continues the story of warring royal cousins in an ancient mythical kingdom and again features South Indian stars Prabhas, Rana Daggubati, Sathya Raj, Tamannah and Anushka Shetty.
Receiving tremendous response
The producers and its distributors launched the epic on an unprecedented release in over 6500 screens in India and over 9000 screens across the world — the highest for an Indian film. The second instalment, released in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam, that received a thumbs up from critics as well as the audience is now all set to become India's all-time champion, beating the lifetime total of Baahubali: The Beginning ($76.6 million), Dangal ($81 million) and PK ($119 million). India Today projects Baahubali films together stand a chance to earn over $227 million worldwide.
If you thought The Beginning set new records for a Hindi-dubbed film, The Conclusion grossed over $18.1 million on the opening day, the highest-ever for a Hindi film. The $38 million production, which is pocket change by Hollywood standards, was already in profit before it was released as the producers recouped $75 million from the sale of theatrical and satellite rights.
The film is receiving a tremendous response. "Despite being a southern film, it is going houseful in various theatres in north India. On an average, the film has received 80-90% seat occupancy till now,” Delhi-based distributor Joginder Mahajan told IANS. 
In various cities of southern states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, the film is sold out for the next one week.
Milestone in storytelling
The critics and the public agree that The Beginning was an epic that generations will watch, appreciate and analyze, but with this sequel, a 175-minute visual feast, director S.S. Rajamouli sets a milestone in visual technique and storytelling. The biggest victory for the film is the VFX and the heart-thumping stunts engineered diligently by action choreographer Peter Hein.
In the UAE, Indian film industry’s second biggest overseas market, advance cinema bookings have clocked 120,000 admissions on the opening day, April 27. “This is historical and we have never witnessed something so big. Usually films starring Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan or Salman Khan get around 50,000 or 60,000 admissions and this is double,” said distributor Ahmad Golchin from Phars Film to Gulf News. It’s also the first time that a local distributor in the UAE released a film simultaneously in four languages in over 180 screens.
At the North American box office, the film has made $10.1 million from a mere 450 theaters in the weekend, beating Emma Watson's new high-tech thriller The Circle. The Conclusion also got a run in 45 Imax venues, generating $1.8 million, which is a record again. It is the third Indian film after 2013's Dhoom 3 and 2014's Bang Bang! to get an Imax release. The franchise also has a spinoff animated series, Baahubali: The Lost Legends, which launched last week on Amazon Prime Video worldwide.
Baahubali has become a phenomenon, a brand and a cult classic, probably bigger than robust revenge saga Sholay (1975), whose extraordinary success has spawned many hundreds of spoofs and remakes. Years from now, filmmakers who dream big but shy away from taking that leap of faith will probably draw strength from the work of Rajamouli and his team.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Angelina Jolie Credits Her Late Mother Marcheline Bertrand For Her Parenting Skills

Image
Angelina Jolie recently credited her late mother, Marcheline Bertrand, for everything she’s learned and has been doing as a mother for her six children. During a recent interview with  Elle France , the 41-year-old “Maleficent” actress revealed that she strives to be the best example to her kids, Maddox, 15, Pax, 13, Zahara, 12, Shiloh, 10, and Vivienne and Knox, 8. “She would have thrived as a grandmother. I know how much she would have contributed to their lives and I am sad they will miss out on that. I would give anything for her to be with me at this time. I’ve need her. I talk to her often in my mind and try to think what she might say and how she might guide me,” she said. Bertrand, who was a French-American actress, raised Jolie and her brother, Haven, by herself following her divorce from Jon Voight. At the time, Jolie was still a toddler so she hasn’t spent as much time with Voight. But in recent years,  Jolie and Voight have reunited with each other , and the award
Read more

Mark Zuckerberg gets trolled on Harvard’s student newspaper ahead of commencement speech.

Image
Ahead of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s commencement speech at Harvard today, the school’s much-lauded student newspaper had some… interesting headlines to share. “BREAKING: Mork Zinkletink Zonks all over the Internet!” The bogus headlines, first spotted by Business Insider, came from an unauthorized user according to a statement given to TechCrunch by Crimson President Derek Cho. Earlier today, The Harvard Crimson’s website was altered by an unauthorized user. We are currently working to repair the breach. We regret any inconvenience to our readers and look forward to the rest of Commencement. It’s all a bit fitting, given Zuckerberg’s own troubled past with The Crimson. Back in 2004, while Zuckerberg was a student, he allegedly hacked into the email accounts of two editors of The Crimson to see a story ahead of press time written about claims of intellectual property theft made against his new website TheFacebook. He reportedly used failed login attempts from the edit
Read more

Daytime Emmy Awards: Winners List

Image
Mary Hart received a lifetime achievement award. 'General Hospital,' 'Ellen,' 'The Talk,' 'Entertainment Tonight,' 'Good Morning America,' 'Jeopardy!' and Steve Harvey were among the night's big winners. The 44th annual Daytime Emmy Awards were handed out Sunday night. General Hospital, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The Talk, Entertainment Tonight, Good Morning America, Jeopardy!  and  Steve Harvey  were among the night's big winners. Harvey, in fact, won two awards: best game show host for  Family Feud  and best informative talk show host for his eponymous talker. Heading into the ceremony, CBS'  The Young and the Restless  led all nominees with a total of 25, followed by the network's  The Bold and the Beautiful.  Both series were nominated for best daytime drama alongside NBC's  Days of Our Lives  and last year's winner, ABC's  General Hospital.  CBS also led all networks and streaming services with
Read more