Two big-star films clashed at the box office: Rajinikanth’s Jailer 2 and Vijay Deverakonda’s Ranabaali, directed by Rahul Sankrityan.
Despite relatively low pre-release buzz, Jailer 2 ruled the box office, grossing $5.17 million in its first weekend. The Tamil version contributed the majority of that total. A $5 million-plus weekend is huge and once again shows the power of Rajinikanth’s stardom.
Ranabaali also opened with low buzz. The team enabled theater passes from the premiere shows, but the film still struggled, collecting just $704K in its first weekend. That’s a shockingly low total for a star like Vijay Deverakonda.
Interestingly, Jailer 2’s Telugu version collected slightly more than Ranabaali’s entire Telugu total.
This weekend is crucial for Ranabaali to show some staying power. But the trend is already clear: even with passes, it may finish around the $1 million mark.
