Box Office Collection: Mahesh's 'Aagadu' Beats Salman's 'Kick' Opening Weekend Figures in US

Telugu actor Mahesh Babu has once again proved that he is the king of US box office. His latest-release "Aagadu" has been creating waves in the country. The film has crossed the $1million mark even before the first weekend.

"Aagadu USA -premieres $533K, Fri -$395K, Sat-$373K; Total till now-$1301K. Will cross $1.5 mil by 1st weekend. Mahesh: overseas king!," tweeted Jeevi of idlebrain.

The film has surpassed the opening weekend collections of Salman Khan's "Kick" at the US box office. "Kick" had grossed $829,411 in its first weekend, according to Bollywood Hungama. The Mahesh starrer has also beaten Hrithik Roshan's "Krrish 3" opening weekend collections, which amounts to $1.1 million.

"Aagadu", which hit the screens on 19 September, has taken record openings for any Telugu film at the US box office. It is Mahesh's fourth film to enter the $1million club after "Dookudu," "Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu" and "1 Nenokkadine."

The action entertainer has also emerged on top in the list of Telugu films with highest opening day share at the worldwide box office by surpassing "Attarintiki Daaredi" collections.

The film took grand openings not just in Andhra/Nizam areas, but also in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, rest of India and overseas locations. However, its collections have dropped since the second day in AP/Nizam areas owing to mixed reviews.

Moreover, rain affected the film's business in some areas. The film is estimated to have earned over ₹16 crore share in its opening weekend at the AP/Nizam box office.

It remains to be seen as to how "Aagadu" performs during the week days. The film will dominate the screens until Friday, when Gopichand's "Loukyam" hits the screens. With "Aagadu" receiving mixed reviews, several theatres might allot more screens for the Gopichand starrer. This might affect "Aagadu" collections in its second week.

If the Mahesh starrer manages to hold well in its second week, it is likely to perform decent business at the box office. However, the film will be facing strong competition from Ram Charan's "Govindudu Andarivaadele" (releasing on 1 October) in its third week.