Nandamuri Balakrishna’s latest Telugu release, Daaku Maharaaj, is fizzling out and heading toward a much lower box office collection. Mostly known for his commercial films, Balayya kicked off the theatrical release of this latest venture on a positive note and after a strong opening weekend, the film has tapered off collections steeply, hinting at a premature farewell in theatres.
Also Read: Daaku Maharaaj proves to be a Box Office smash! Already recovered over half of production costs
By the end of the 10th day after its release, the film grossed along with around ₹1.40 crore at the Indian box office grossing ₹81.34 crore (net), as reported by Sacnilk. This is way off from what was expected in the first few days, and the early signs of struggle raise questions about whether it will even break even. Partnerships with other movies provide a tough competitor for the film space.
The film is directed by Bobby Kolli. This film was supposed, much like the previous Sankranti blockbuster that Kolli had delivered, Waltair Veerayya, to have shattered the other records. Though the film started off useful, it was not able to carry the momentum at the ticket counters. Balakrishna’s films tend to have great initial openings, but Daaku Maharaaj seemed to lose steam sooner than expected.
The film was also pitted against the Venkatesh starrer Sankranthiki Vasthunam, which pulls away part of the audience from Daaku Maharaaj through its many screens running.
The budget of Daaku Maharaaj was 100 crores. With only 81.34 crores of the original production cost recovered, Balakrishna’s film still requires ₹18.66 crore to break even in its last legs. At this point, it doesn’t seem like it can reach that goal unless it manages to strike exceptionally well at the weekend.
If that were not enough, the Tamil-dubbed version of Daaku Maharaaj was a disaster, earning less than ₹10 lakh at the box office.
Although Daaku Maharaaj earned accolades for its commercial aspects, this film will face a more daunting challenge sustaining audience interest beyond the initial week-the faulty reasoning that has yet to be dully noted, as many box-office fears passed through such films. All eyes now turn onto Balayya’s next.
