Box Office: Mazaka to end as a DECENT runner in theatres in this otherwise dull Movie Season

Despite positive reviews, Sundeep Kishan’s Mazaka struggles at the box office due to exam season, summer heat, and tough competition from Dragon and other releases.

Written by Shanaz Syed , Journalist

Published on Mar 04, 2025 | 03:32 PM IST | 7.2K

Credit: Sundeep Kishan Instagram

Telugu star Sundeep Kishan’s latest film Mazaka, which released on February 26, opened to mostly positive reviews but failed to create strong buzz at the box office. Despite the huge pre-release buzz, the film’s First Day collections stood only at ₹3 crore gross worldwide, and the momentum slowed down over the following days. By the end of Day 5, Mazaka had collected just ₹1.6 gross crore globally, and early estimates for Day 6 indicate that the numbers could drop below ₹1 crore.

The first thing that adds to Mazaka’s struggle is its time of the release. The film landed right in the middle of the exam season on the eve of Maha Shivaratri holiday. That's the time when families, especially students and parents, prefer staying away from cinemas to focus more on academics. Moreover, with soaring early summer temperatures in the Telugu states, the general footfall at theatres is low. This challenging climate resulted in now Mazaka to finish its theatrical run as a decent runner, rather than emerging as a solid box office blockbuster.

Another major hurdle for Mazaka came in the form of stiff competition from Pradeep Ranganathan's Dragon, a film that released a week ahead of it and stormed past ₹100 crore worldwide within short time. While Dragon capitalized on its youthful appeal and emotional content, Mazaka had to rely heavily on its comedy and drama to connect with the audience. Despite being overshadowed by other running Telugu films like Thandel as well, Mazaka has managed to hold onto a certain section of viewers.

At the heart of Mazaka is the story of Krishna, a carefree, fun-loving young man from Visakhapatnam and his life takes a chaotic turn when his father, played by Rao Ramesh, also falls in love with a woman, played by Anshu, who happens to be a relative of Krishna's girlfriend, played by Ritu Varma. What follows is a series of comedic misunderstandings involving Krishna and his father.

With the crucial weekday test underway, the next weekend will determine whether Mazaka can gain a second wind or simply bow out as a decent performer in an otherwise dull movie season. Either way, the film’s blend of humor and family drama has ensured it doesn’t go unnoticed entirely.