The five-way Sankranti clash in the Telugu states has descended into confusion and stress for everyone involved. Ideally, producers should have anticipated this situation months in advance and shifted at least one film to the Republic Day weekend. Since that did not happen, theatres are now under extreme pressure, and distributors are struggling to manage screen allocation amid unprecedented demand.
Chiranjeevi and Anil Ravipudi’s Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu has clearly emerged as the top film of the season. The film is running at near full capacity across most centers. Family audiences are turning up in large numbers. Shows are being added wherever possible, and advance bookings are filling two to three days ahead through both online platforms and counter sales. Despite this demand, exhibitors are unable to add more screens, which is now directly impacting the film’s box office potential.
Naveen Polishetty’s Anaganaga Oka Raju has secured a reasonable number of screens but still falls short of what is required to fully capitalize on audience interest. Trade circles believe the film could have performed even better with wider availability.
On the other hand, Ravi Teja’s Bharta Mahasayulaku Wignyapthi has been pushed into restricted capacity screens. Although the talk is slightly better than his recent disasters, the damage from past failures is evident. Audience growth is slow and cautious rather than organic and explosive.
Prabhas’s The Raja Saab continues to see overflow interest in select pockets, but overall occupancy is struggling to cross even 30%. While the film’s fate is largely clear that it is a disaster, distributors are unable to vacate screens immediately due to high acquisition costs and steep break-even targets. Most buyers believe any major reshuffle can only happen from the second week onward.
Meanwhile, Sharwanand’s Naari Naari Naduma Murari has opened with very limited shows. Even if the film were to receive blockbuster level word of mouth, its prospects for the current week remain very limited simply because there are no screens available.
Adding to the chaos, schools remain closed until Sunday, and families visiting their hometowns are treating theatres as their primary form of entertainment. Regions like Uttarandhra and Nizam are witnessing heavy footfalls. Distributors openly admit they are confused about fair screen allocation, with competition leading to internal disputes among buyers.
With the top position already locked, the real fight is now for the remaining ranks. How screens are reshuffled over the next few days will decide who truly benefits from this overcrowded Sankranti season.
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