Mumbai: Star filmmaker SS Rajamouli's latest magnum opus "RRR" opened to a terrific response across 7,000 screens in India and globally on Friday. The fantasy-drama film recorded the highest opening numbers after "Baahubali: The Conclusion," the filmmaker's last outing. Trade pundits believe that it is the glowing word of mouth that helped "RRR" to become immensely popular amongst moviegoers within just three days of its release.
"RRR" is the first film after two continuous years of instability to have a 100 per cent opening in terms of occupancy. Reportedly, the film overtook "Baahubali 2" with the first day's earnings and has earned Rs 580 crore till Sunday evening.
On its debut day, the film earned Rs 18 crore in the Hindi belt alone. On the second day, the film continued to rake in Rs 24 crore. On the global front, the film is doing well in Australia and USA as well. It earned Rs 223 crore worldwide. In India, the film earned Rs 156 crore, while in the USA, the film minted Rs 42 crore and in the non-US market, it nabbed Rs 25 crore, which takes the total to a solid Rs 223 crore.
Rajamouli's marketing strategy did the magic for "RRR"
The marketing team of "RRR" has done a tremendous job to create a buzz around the film even before its release. While being a visual masterpiece, "RRR" has been in talks since 2018, when the shooting schedule was planned.
"RRR" was never meant to be a Tollywood film. As a pan India film, it targeted gen-Z and millennials by using social media applications like Snapchat.
Movie business returning to normalcy
Experts believe that full-year FY23 box office revenue should be in line with pre-Covid levels as of now. Even on a like-to-like basis - while comparing March 2019 too, there is a 30 per cent + growth in box office revenue for exhibitors, estimated by Elara Capitals before the release of "RRR."
With back-to-back hits, including "RRR," "The Kashmir Files," "Gangubai Kathiawadi," March 2022 has seen Hindi box office revenue growth of at least 30-35 per cent versus pre-pandemic levels of March 2019.
Elara Capital's Taurani expects this momentum to accelerate from April 2022 onwards.
Bollywood business growth for 2022 is backed by promising content lineup
If we see the trend so far, the year opened with "Badhaai Do," a comedy-drama crafted around the LGBTQI+ community and same-sex relationships.
Soon after, Bollywood saw two big historical films - "Gangubai Kathiawadi" and "The Kashmir Files." The two films turned out to be a great surprise not just for the audience but for producers too by collecting Rs 150 crore and Rs 250 crore, respectively.
Along with the huge openings in the first quarter, big-budget films like "Jersey," "Brahmastra," "Heropanti 2," "KGF 2," "Tejas," "Ram Setu" are also lined up for release in the next few months.
Looking at the content lineup for the next nine months of 2022, it can be said that the present growth will sustain and 2022 will manage to match pre-Covid levels leading to normalcy in the film business.
What is the story of "RRR"
Set in the 1920's, "RRR" is based on the lives of Telugu freedom fighters, Alluri Sitarama Raju (played by Ram Charan) and Komaram Bheem (Jr NTR). Bankrolled by DVV Danayya, "RRR" was reportedly made on a massive budget of Rs 450 crore. Alongside the lead turn from Ram Charan and Jr NTR, the film also features Ajay Devgn and Alia Bhatt in extended cameos.
