Ram Charan’s Peddi has got off to a strong start at the Telugu box office, but the film’s opening-day trends are also highlighting a familiar reality about the pan-India market.
According to early trade estimates, Peddi collected around Rs. 22 crores from preview shows across India, with nearly Rs. 18.75 crore coming from the Telugu states alone. Overseas, the film is also performing well, with preview collections expected to be around $2 million, including approximately $1.5 million from the United States.
These numbers make Peddi the second-biggest Telugu preview opener of all time, behind Pawan Kalyan’s OG, and significantly ahead of Ram Charan’s previous release, Game Changer. The response in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana has been mixed to decent, with strong occupancy reported in several centers. There could be a big drop tomorrow before collections pick up over the weekend.
While the film has opened strongly in Telugu-speaking regions, reports from North India suggest that audience response has been mixed to negative. It was expected that Peddi’s rural backdrop, raw setting, and sports drama elements could connect with the Hindi mass audience in the same way films like Pushpa managed to do. But, at least on day one, that breakthrough does not appear to have happened.
Current estimates indicate a Hindi opening in the range of just Rs. 2-3 crore. For a film mounted on a reported budget of around Rs. 300 crores, that is a disappointing start. Peddi needs substantial support from the Hindi market to achieve breakeven and recover its budget. Otherwise, it will have to depend heavily on the Telugu states and overseas markets to drive its box office performance, which may not be enough in the long run.
Another challenge is that the film released on a Thursday without the benefit of a major holiday. The real test begins over the weekend. Positive word of mouth can still significantly improve collections.
Varun Dhawan’s Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai is releasing tomorrow, which could create additional competition in North India. If that film opens well and receives positive reviews, it may further limit Peddi’s growth in the Hindi belt. If it also receives poor reviews, that might help Peddi attract more audiences.
For now, it will be interesting to see whether Peddi can sustain its momentum over the next few days.
