In mere 10 days, RRR overtook Baahubali: The Conclusion to become the highest-grossing movie ever at the AP/TS box office with Rs. 311 crores approx, while Baahubali 2 made Rs. 307 crores in its entire run and took 45 days to cross the Rs. 300 crores mark. First, the all-time record for Nizam and Ceeded fell on Saturday and on Sunday the overall record for Telugu state fell. It is still slightly behind Baahubali 2 in Coastal Andhra and will probably take another week or so to reach the summit there.
The top ten grossing films in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are as follows with shares earned in brackets:
RRR - Rs. 311 crores (Rs. 208 crores) (10 days)
Baahubali 2: The Conclusion - Rs. 307.10 crores (Rs. 198.40 crores)
Ala Vaikunthapuramuloo - Rs. 195.90 crores (Rs. 120.80 crores)
Baahubali: The Beginning - Rs. 172.70 crores (Rs. 111 crores)
Sarileru Neekevvaru - Rs. 160.80 crores (Rs. 100 crores)
Rangasthalam - Rs. 157 crores (Rs. 92.20 crores)
Syeraa Narasimha Reddy - Rs. 152.10 crores (Rs. 97.10 crores)
Pushpa: The Rise - Rs. 136.70 crores (Rs. 80.80 crores)
Maharishi - Rs. 129.80 crores (Rs. 78.10 crores)
Saaho - Rs. 124.10 crores (Rs. 73 crores)
Since Magadheera in 2009, it is the fourth time an S.S. Rajamouli movie has renewed the all-time record in the territory. It was Magadheera that opened the Rs. 100 crores club, Baahubali: The Beginning breached Rs. 150 crores and then Baahubali: The Closing took the bar as high as Rs. 300 crores. With RRR, Rs. 400 crores is likely to happen. It is unlikely to find another case where a director has dominated box office records of the industry to such an extent and with that volume anywhere in the world.
It is important to note that these are gross records, not attendance records. The ticket prices are on a rise in the region, especially in Telangana where prices have tripled since Baahubali 2 in 2017. RRR has recorded an estimated 1.3-1.4 crores admits in its run so far in the Telugu states, which is far cry from around 2.75-2.90 crores of Baahubali 2.
Pointing out the admissions in no way diminishes the box office achievement of RRR. The purpose is to add perspective. At the end of the day, it is the money that matters to the trade, whether it comes from Rs. 50 tickets or Rs. 500 but attendance is important for the health of the business and a balance needs to be formed between the two.
