Day 1: LEO at 140 Cr, Bhagwant Kesari at 32+ Cr?: The two recently released movies, Leo by Vijay and Bhagwant Kesari by Nandamuri Balakrishna, both had a phenomenal opening day at the box office. Leo has knocked the ball out of the park by setting an all-time record for a Tamil cinema ever, even though Balayya’s movie gave it its all.
According to the official data released by the producers, Balayya’s Bhagwant Kesari reached a gross of 32.33 crore gross with mass pockets and class centers picking up greatly by the evening. Due to the emotive second half, the shows greatly increased by night, and the Friday bookings are also quite positive.
The movie is performing slightly below expectations in the USA, where the audience was hoping for more of an Akhanda-style somber thunder.
In terms of the Leo, the Tamil version set a world record for a Tamil film, while the Telugu version performed admirably in Telugu states, grossing close to 18 to 20 crores on Day 1. According to Tamil trade analysts, Leo’s gross receipts from the Tamil version alone have surpassed 100 crores, with the other languages contributing an additional 40+ crores. For Vijay and Lokesh Kanagaraj, a 140+ crore opening for a Tamil film in all of its languages is an incredible start, even though the Hindi version hasn’t fared as well as anticipated.
We must wait and see how these movies perform on Day 2 and over the first weekend given the benefits of the long weekend and the Dasara vacations.
Ratnavali