iSmart Shankar box office collection in USA premieres: Puri film turns 2nd biggest opener for Ram

Director Puri Jagannadh's iSmart Shankar made a decent collection at the USA box office in the premiere shows on Wednesday. The film has emerged as the second biggest opener for Ram Pothineni.

Puri Jagannadh has made a huge fanbase in the USA for himself, by working with popular actors like Pawan Kalyan and Mahesh Babu. He has teamed up with young actor Ram Pothineni, who also boasts of good fan following in the country. Both of them have suffered setbacks with back to back flops in recent years, but the promos of the first combo film have grabbed many eyeballs and created a curiosity about it.

Great India Films, which has earlier distributed blockbusters like Baahubali 2 and Maharshi, acquired the overseas theatrical rights of iSmart Shankar for a whopping price. The distribution house released it in a decent number of screens across the USA in a bid to cash in the hype surrounding the film. It also held preview shows on several screens in the country a day before it hit the screens in India.

Having decent advance booking, the Ram Pothineni starrer opened to very good response with some screens witnessing 100 percent occupancy. As per early trends, iSmart Shankar has collected $51,677 at the USA box office in the premiere shows and this number is likely to increase when the final figures are revealed. It has become the second biggest opener for the actor after Vunnadi Okate Zindagi ($105,000).

Jeevi tweeted, "#iSmartShankar collects $51,677 from 55 locations in USA with per location average of $940. It's a decent opening considering the genre.  This is Ram's 2nd biggest USA premieres number after Vunnadi Okate Zindagi (which had the benefit of moviepass) #VunnadiOkateZ - $105k."

iSmart Shankar deals with double dhimak concept and Puri Jagannadh has laced it with mass elements. The movie has been successful in striking a chord with the audience. Ram's terrific performance and makeover and Puri Jagan's trademark dialogues and direction and Mani Sharma's background score are the highlights of the film. The word of mouth is expected to boost its collection over the weekend.