Top Highest First Day Grossers in APTS: Ram Charan's Game Changer Seventh

Without any context, this isn't a bad place to be at but it is when proper context is added these numbers look quite ordinary.

By Jatinder Singh

Updated on Jan 11, 2025 | 02:53 PM IST | 11.4K

Ram Charan in Game Changer (image courtesy of AA Films)

Game Changer collected Rs. 43 crore approx in the Telugu states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana on its first day, which places it as the seventh-highest first day ever in the twin state. Without any context, this isn't a bad place to be at but it is when proper context is added these numbers look quite ordinary.

There has been a huge increase in the first-day business recently, with ticket prices going through the roof. Telangana saw a major increase in ticket prices in 2021 when the prices were essentially doubled from the previous rates. However, that increase was cancelled out by stricter regulation by Andhra Pradesh, which kept the first-day numbers kind of flat from pre-CoVID levels. Telangana was making up for nearly the same collections as Andhra Pradesh for the first day, when traditionally it used to be around half. This remained the case in 2022 and 2023.

With regime change in Andhra Pradesh last year, the ticket price regulations have become lenient and films are also given over-the-top hikes and extra shows permissions, which has taken the first-day business to another level. Last year saw Devara clearing the Rs. 60 crore mark on the first day and Pushpa 2 took the record with Rs. 80 crore plus, with what many felt wasn't even optimal performance. A "Baahubali" or an "RRR" will probably be targeting Rs. 100 crore first day in APTS today.

It is under this context that this Rs. 43 crore of Game Changer looks very ordinary. Even though, Guntur Kaaram collected a similar amount last year, that came with much higher occupancies than Game Changer, which was rather ordinary at around 45-50 per cent level.

This is also a side effect of increased ticket prices. With high ticket prices, the business can skyrocket but when the hype around the film isn't that great, it could backfire with low occupancies. Earlier, even the weakest of big-star Telugu films used to record occupancies at around 70-80 per cent but now they can go as low as sub 50 per cent. The first days aren't even the hardest hit by these ticket price hikes, it is the subsequent days when its simply a bloodbath and not even Pushpa 2 managed to escape from them. Game Changer has simply crashed today with occupancies hitting 20 per cent mark in morning shows today.

The Top Highest First Day Box Office Collections in AP/TS are as follows:

Rank	Title	Year	Gross
1	Pushpa: The Rule	2024	Rs. 80.50 cr.
2	RRR	2022	Rs. 77.50 cr.
3	Devara	2024	Rs. 65.00 cr.
4	Kalki 2898 AD	2024	Rs. 57.25 cr.
5	Salaar	2023	Rs. 55.00 cr.
6	Baahubali: The Conclusion	2017	Rs. 44.75 cr.
7	Game Changer	2024	Rs. 43.00 cr.
8	Guntur Kaaram	2023	Rs. 42.50 cr.
9	Saaho	2019	Rs. 40.75 cr.
10	Syeraa Narasimha Reddy	2019	Rs. 39.00 cr.
11	Adipurush	2023	Rs. 38.75 cr.
12	Sarkaru Vaari Paata	2020	Rs. 36.25 cr.
13	Vakeel Saab	2022	Rs. 35.75 cr.
14	Sarileru Neekevvaru	2024	Rs. 34.50 cr.
15	Bheemla Nayak	2022	Rs. 30.50 cr.
16	Radhe Shyam	2022	Rs. 30.50 cr.
17	Aravindha Sametha	2018	Rs. 29.50 cr.
18	Pushpa: The Rise	2021	Rs. 29.50 cr.
19	Acharya	2022	Rs. 28.50 cr.
20	Mahrishi	2019	Rs. 27.00 cr.