Vakeel Saab Opening Weekend Box Office: Pawan Kalyan fights the law, and pronounced the winner by audience

A detailed opening weekend report of how Pawan Kalyan's court room drama has fared at the box-office in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

Written by Himesh Mankad , Journalist

Updated on Apr 14, 2021 | 07:22 AM IST | 452.8K

Vakeel Saab Opening Weekend Box Office: Pawan Kalyan fights the law, and pronounced the winner by audience

Vakeel Saab stands tall against all odds in its opening weekend in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana as the audience has pronounced him the winner at the box-office in it’s opening weekend. The Pawan Kalyan starrer has collected a distributor share of Rs 10.50 crore on Sunday, taking the three day weekend total to Rs 53.79 crore. The court room drama has recorded the career best weekend for Pawan Kalyan, and this has come in the midst of pandemic with additional political barriers also coming into play in the key market – APTS.

In terms of Telugu cinema, Vakeel Saab has recorded the fourth biggest weekend total for a Telugu film after Bahubali 2 (Rs 75 crore), Saaho (Rs 59 crore) and Sye Raa Narsimha Reddy (Rs 54 crore). The film might just edge past the Chiranjeevi film, depending on where the final figures land, as the above-mentioned figures are just estimating and we still await exact territorial breakdown. The low-ticket rates have acted as a big barrier in curtailing Vakeel Saab from creating a non-Bahubali record in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Had Vakeel Saab released with ticket rate hike and the benefit shows, it was well on its course to challenge Saho and create a non-Bahubali weekend record.

The low-ticket rates have acted as a big barrier in curtailing Vakeel Saab from creating a non-Bahubali record in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Had Vakeel Saab released with ticket rate hike and the benefit shows, it was well on its course to challenge Saho and create a non-Bahubali weekend record.

The figures have come for a film that’s not as commercial as other Telugu films, and this is a sheer display of Pawan Kalyan’s raw stardom in the market. The telugu state distribution rights have been sold for Rs 75 crore, and in its opening weekend, Vakeel Saab has recovered 72% of the investment. However, it’s still around 20 crores away from breakeven mark, and there are reports coming in from Hyderabad and places around of shows getting cancelled, cinema halls getting shut owing to unfair imposition of lowered ticket tariff by the government. There are single screens in tier 2 and 3 centers who have been forced to charge Rs 20 per ticket, and in current times, it’s not feasible for them to function with these rates, forcing a shutdown at many places.

Apart from the invisible virus, Pawan Kalyan is also facing a wrath from the in power political party in the Telugu states, and the trade feels this is unfair to use a movie as a medium to settle scores just because the political ideologies don’t match. All in all, it’s a power packed weekend, but there’s still some work remaining before the film reaches the recovery mark. With usual ticket rates, recovery as a cake walk, but now, it’s a wait and watch game, as the scenario is going from bad to worse.