Nagarjuna and Nani's Devadas (Devdas / Deva Daasu) has received a brilliant opening response at the US box office in the premiere shows when compared to Chekka Chivantha Vaanam and Nawab.
Devadas is an action comedy movie written and directed by Sriram Aditya. The rare combo of Nagarjuna and Nani has generated a lot of hype for the film. On the other hand, Chekka Chivantha Vaanam is a crime thriller film and Mani Ratnam's direction and ensemble cast have created a lot of curiosity about it.
Nagarjuna and Nani boast huge fanbases in the US and the distributors have released Devadas in 180 screens in a bid to cash in on their popularity. Chekka Chivantha Vaanam and its Telugu version Nawab have been released in 110 screens together across the country. These movies were premiered in an equal number of cinema halls in the country on Wednesday night.
Having good advance booking, Nagarjuna and Nani starrer has opened to a fantastic response at the ticket counters in the country. As per early estimates, Devadas has collected $143,572 from 143 locations at the US box office in the premiere shows. This number is likely to go up when the final figures are revealed.
Akkineni Nagarjuna's previous releases Manam, Raju Gari Gadhi 2 and Oopiri have collected $95,473, $80,916 and $76,635, respectively at the US box office in their premiere shows. Now, Devadas has shattered all these records with a big margin and has become the biggest opener for the actor in the country.
MCA, Krishnarjuna Yuddam, Nenu Local and Ninnu Kori have collected $303,981, $164,437, $160,716 and $159,564, respectively at the US box office in their premiere shows. But Devadas has become the fifth biggest opener for Nani, as it failed to beat these records.
When compared to Devadas, the Mani Ratnam-directed bilingual movie has received an average response in the country. As per early estimates, Chekka Chivantha Vaanam and Nawab have collected $65,334 from 82 locations together at the US box office in the premiere shows.
OverSeasRights tweeted, "#Telugu& #Tamil Movies #USA BoxOffice Premieres Reported hourly gross at 1 AM EST. #DevaDas - $143,572 from 143 Locations #ChekkaChivanthaVaanam & #Nawab $65,334 from 82 Locations #KingNagarjuna #NaturalStar #Nani #Rashmika #STR #VijaySethupathi #CCVFromToday #CCV."