Pushpa has grossed Rs. 132 crores Approx in the Telugu states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana during three weeks in release so far. The Allu Arjun starrer is the seventh-highest grosser in the twin states. The film is almost at the end of the run, would have for sure if RRR was released as planned, but as it happened that film was postponed. The Sankranthi holiday period is to start in the region, and now the film can have an extended run. However, the film was released digitally, which is not going to let the film enjoy the boost from holidays to full.
The film had to compete against the reduced ticket prices in Andhra Pradesh, which probably cost the film Rs. 35-40 crores Approx. The real value is around Rs. 170 crores plus in three weeks, and probably Rs. 180 crores in full run, which would have been roughly 90% of Ala Vaikunthapuramuloo and third-highest ever for any film in the region.
The top ten grossing films in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are as follows with share earned in brackets:
Despite these numbers, the film is being taken as an underperformer in the states, as the distributors in the Coastal Andhra region are going to face heavy losses. The blame is put on the ticket prices, but the reality is that the prices were there for everyone to see, but distributors still paid amounts for rights that were irrational and were certain to be a losing affair even before the release. What should have been done was to adjust the business in accordance with the reduced ticket prices, which are as low as half of the prices in early 2021 in places. Instead of the film failing to do well, it is the business practices and structure that have failed.
