Gautamiputra Satakarni, Khaidi No 150, Shatamanam Bhavati gross Rs 158 crore at box office in Sankranti weekend

This Sankranti festival has become the most successful one for Tollywood with Khaidi No 150, Gautamiputra Satakarni (GPSK) and Shatamanam Bhavati grossing Rs 160 crore at the worldwide box office in the first weekend.

Tollywood has had bulk releases during Sankranti festival in recent years. Some of them have turned out big hits at the box office, while others failed to meet the expectations of their makers and distributors. However, this year's festival was special for two reasons. Firstly, it was clash between the movies of two senior actors. Secondly, both the films were landmark flicks in the their careers. While it was considered as the clash between titans, young hero Sharwanand joined the fight with his film, Shatamanam Bhavati.

Before the release of the three films, trade analysts in T-Town made several calculations about their collections in the opening weekend. Khaidi No 150, Gautamiputra Satakarni and Shatamanam Bhavati have surprised them by turning big money spinners at the ticket counters in this Sankranti weekend.

Khaidi No 150, which marks the comeback of megastar after nine years, has collected approximately Rs 97.36 crore gross at the worldwide box office in four day-extended first weekend. Made on budget of Rs 50 crore, the movie earned Rs 103 crore from the sale of its global theatrical rights. The film is estimated to have earned Rs 70 crore the distributors. It is leading the box office chart, beating other new films.

Gautamiputra Satakarni, which is the 100^th movie of Nandamuri Balakrishna, has collected over Rs 50 crore gross at the worldwide box office in the four-day extended first weekend. Made on a budget of Rs 45 crore, the film fetched Rs 46.80 crore from the sale of its global theatrical rights. The movie has returned Rs 36 crore to its distributors in four days. It has landed in the second place in the weekend chart.

Released on Saturday, Shatamanam Bhavati has collected Rs 10.70 crore gross at the worldwide box office in the first weekend. Made on budget of Rs 8 crore, the movie fetched Rs 10 crore from its theatrical rights. The film has earned over Rs 6 crore for its distributors in two days.

Tollywood has shelled out over Rs 103 crore on the production and promotion of these three films, which earned nearly Rs 160 crore from their theatrical rights. Khaidi No 150, Gautamiputra Satakarni and Shatamanam Bhavati have collected Rs 158.06 crore gross at the worldwide box office this Sankranti weekend. They have earned Rs 112 crore share for their distributors.

This Sankranti festival has been the most successful for the Telugu film industry in recent years. This success has set a good beginning for 2017, says an expert from the industry.