Top Highest Grossing Films in APTS: Allu Arjun starrer Pushpa 2 second beating Baahubali 2 & Kalki 2898 AD

The Allu Arjun starrer has grossed Rs. 316 crore approx in the twin states, slotting it between two SS Rajamouli films — behind RRR and ahead of Baahubali 2.

By Jatinder Singh

Updated on Dec 26, 2024 | 05:28 PM IST | 42.4K

Allu Arjun in Pushpa 2 (image courtesy of Mythri Movie Makers)

Pushpa 2 has emerged as the second highest-grossing film ever in the Telugu states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The Allu Arjun starrer has grossed Rs. 316 crore approx in the twin states, slotting between two SS Rajamouli films — behind RRR and ahead of Baahubali 2. The film still has plenty of gas left in the tank and with the New Year holidays ahead, it is poised to inch closer to the Rs. 350 crore mark.

The film has excelled in the Ceded districts, where it became only the second film ever to cross Rs. 50 crore gross mark. By the end of its run, it will come within 10 per cent of the record gross. In Nizam, the film is currently the third highest grosser behind RRR and Kalki 2898 AD. It is well on track to topple the latter and get close to RRR.

In Coastal Andhra, also, it is the third highest-grosser, here being behind RRR and Baahubali 2. There has been underperformance in the two Godavari districts, which will be collecting on par with Kalki, while the rest of the region will be around 20 per cent higher. A similar performance in these two districts would have meant an extra Rs. 6-7 crore gross.

Despite these blockbuster numbers, there is a narrative that the film has not performed well in the Telugu states, which is a complete hogwash. This narrative stems from the archaic way of judging things solely by distributors' recovery, disregarding the actual box office performance, which is measured by gross numbers. Distributor recovery could be a good measure, if the prices involved are rational, which is seldom the case. The films are sold at irrationally high levels, which means even when the film does hit or super hit business, it is seen as a failure. The same is true for Pushpa 2, which was sold at All-Time Blockbuster prices but it will fall short of those by around 10 per cent in the Coastal Andhra, a bigger shortfall of 25 per cent in Godavari districts. Despite extraordinary business in Ceded, the profits will only be 20 per cent or so, while Nizam will just about break even.

There was a genuine issue in the first week of release when the film was showing weakness in occupancies and day-to-day trend on the second day. However, that was due to obscenely high ticket prices, which priced out a large chunk of audience. The issue was sorted, with prices normalised soon after and the film responded to them well. By the end of its run, Pushpa 2 will have sold more than 1.60 crore tickets in Telugu states, which is second only to RRR in recent times and 30-35 per cent higher than the next best.

The Top Twenty Highest Grossing Films in AP/TS are as follows:

Rank	Title	Year	Gross
1	RRR	2022	Rs. 396.00 cr.
2	Pushpa: The Rule	2024	Rs. 316.00 cr.
3	Baahubali: The Conclusion	2017	Rs. 307.00 cr.
4	Kalki 2898 AD	2024	Rs. 291.00 cr.
5	Devara	2024	Rs. 219.00 cr.
6	Salaar	2023	Rs. 218.50 cr.
7	Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo	2020	Rs. 196.00 cr.
8	Baahubali: The Beginning	2015	Rs. 172.00 cr.
9	Waltair Veeraya	2023	Rs. 171.00 cr.
10	Sarileru Neekevvaru	2020	Rs. 161.00 cr.
11	Rangasthalam	2018	Rs. 158.00 cr.
12	KGF Chapter 2	2022	Rs. 156.00 cr.
13	Hanuman	2024	Rs. 153.00 cr.
14	Syeraa Narasimha Reddy	2019	Rs. 152.00 cr.
15	Pushpa: The Rise	2021	Rs. 150.50 cr.
16	Sarkaru Vaari Paata	2022	Rs. 143.00 cr.
17	Guntur Kaaram	2024	Rs. 133.00 cr.
18	Adipurush	2023	Rs. 131.50 cr.
19	Maharshi	2019	Rs. 130.00 cr.
20	Saaho	2019	Rs. 125.00 cr.