Director Harish Shankar's DJ aka Duvvada Jagannadham made a fantastic collection at the US box office in the premiere shows on Thursday, and become the biggest opener for Allu Arjun in the country.
The fan base of Allu Arjun has been growing with each of his new film in North America in the last few years and the collection graph of his previous releases gives ample proof. His growing popularity and hype generated by the promos of DJ aka Duvvada Jagannadham had created a huge demand for the overseas theatrical rights of the film.
Amid a lot of competition, BlueSky Cinemas acquired the overseas theatrical rights of DJ aka Duvvada Jagannadham for a whopping amount of Rs 7 crore, which is a record price for a film of Allu Arjun. The distributors made grand arrangements for its International release by booking 300 screens, including 170 screens in the US and 10 screens in Canada. They also held premieres in US and Canada on Thursday.
With some multiplexes announcing offers on ticket prices, DJ aka Duvvada Jagannadham had registered good advance booking. The Allu Arjun and Pooja Hegde-starrer witnessed a record number of footfalls in the previews shows in the US, with some cinema halls even running to packed houses.
The numbers are still being compiled, but early estimates indicate that DJ aka Duvvada Jagannadham collected $400,000 at the US box office from the premiere shows. Telugu360 tweeted: #DuvvadaJagannadham on pace to become @alluarjun 's highest Premieres - $180k at 730 EST from 130 centers. Trade expecting $400k Premieres."
Stylish Star Allu Arjun's previous releases — Sarainodu, S/o Satyamurthy and Race Gurram — collected $190,796, $347,267 and $102,782, respectively, at the US box office in their premiere shows. Now early estimates show that DJ aka Duvvada Jagannadham has shattered all these records to become the biggest opener for the actor in the country. It is likely to cross the $1 million mark in the first weekend.
