Theatres across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are nearly empty right now. Ravi Teja’s Mass Jathara turned out to be a complete washout after its opening weekend. Even on Sunday, it failed to record strong house-full shows. The film is expected to finish its entire run within the first week.
The re-release of Baahubali: The Epic performed decently over its first weekend but dropped sharply after that. Outside a few multiplexes in Hyderabad, collections have been weak. In several B and C centers, screenings have already been pulled off. While fans hoped for another hundred-crore wave, that didn’t happen. Still, the re-release records will stay under the Baahubali name, as expected.
Now all eyes are on the November 7 releases. Distributors and exhibitors are desperate for a hit that can pull audiences back to theatres. Rashmika Mandanna’s The Girlfriend is leading the buzz among youth. The makers are counting on her star power to attract crowds. If this love story connects, it could bring some much-needed life to the box office.
Sudheer Babu’s Jatadhara is another major release. Though it lacks strong pre-release buzz, the team is confident that reviews and positive word of mouth will help. Meanwhile, The Great Pre-Wedding Show, starring Thiru Veer, has not created any serious curiosity and will depend entirely on audience talk post-release.
The Tamil dubbed film Aaryan is also hitting screens, but since it already flopped in Tamil, expecting big numbers in Telugu is unrealistic. From Bollywood, Emraan Hashmi’s Haq is releasing with decent reviews but low excitement.
The Telugu box office is running dry, and the next forty-eight hours will decide whether The Girlfriend or Jatadhara can pull off a miracle. For now, the industry is hoping that Rashmika can bring some much-needed cheer back to theatres.
