Director KS Ravikimar's latest Telugu film Jai Simha has made decent earnings in its pre-release business, but failed to beat the record of Nandamuri Balakrishna's last outing Paisa Vasool.
Jai Simha is one of the most-awaited Telugu movies of 2018 and the hype surrounding it had created a lot of demand for its theatrical, satellite and music rights. With the movie set for release on January 12, we hear that the makers have already sealed the deals on the sale of all its rights. The film has fetched decent prices.
Jai Simha has fetched Rs 23.50 crore from the theatrical rights of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and Rs 3.50 crore from its distribution rights for rest of world. The movie has earned a total of Rs 27 crore from its global distribution rights. It amassed Rs 7.50 crore from its TV rights and Rs 4 crore from its music and other rights. Its total pre-release business reportedly stands at Rs 38.50 crore.
Balakrishna is one of the most popular Telugu actors, but he has a limited reach outside Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. His previous films like Lion, Dictator and Legend had fetched less than Rs 25 crore to each for its producers from the sale of their theatrical rights. But his 2017-film Gautamiputra Satakarni surprised everyone with its superb pre-release business.
Gautamiputra Satakarni earned Rs 46.50 crore from the sale of its various rights. Four factors played a crucial role in making its pre-release business a big success. Firstly, it was the landmark 100th film of Balakrishna. Secondly it was period movie. Besides this, it was directed by ace filmmaker Krish and finally, its budget was bigger than that of Balayya's previous releases.
Gautamiputra Satakarni not only recovered the investment of its distributors, but also earned them good profit share. This made the makers of Paisa Vasool sell its theatrical rights for very high prices, which were almost equal to that of Gautamiputra Satakarni. But now, the producers of Jai Simha realised the fact and played it safe by selling its distribution rights at reasonable prices.
Here are pre-release business details of Lion, Dictator, Gautamiputra Satakarni (GPSK), Paisa Vasool and Jai Simha. These numbers are based on various reports and they may vary from actual ones. All the figures are in Rs and crore.
| Rights | Lion | Dictator | GPSK | Paisa Vasool | Jai Simha |
| Nizam | 6.00 | 5.50 | 9.00 | 8.00 | 5.40 |
| Ceded | 5.00 | 5.40 | 12.50 | 6.00 | 5.00 |
| Vizag | 2.50 | 2.55 | 3.00 | 3.20 | |
| G East | 1.30 | 1.80 | 3.20 | 2.20 | 2.20 |
| G West | 1.20 | 1.60 | 2.80 | 2.00 | 1.80 |
| Krishna | 1.30 | 1.70 | 7.70 | 2.00 | 1.90 |
| Guntur | 2.43 | 2.60 | 3.60 | 2.70 | |
| Nelore | 1.10 | 1.35 | 2.00 | 1.30 | 1.30 |
| AP/T Total | 20.83 | 22.50 | 37.20 | 28.10 | 23.50 |
| Karnataka | 2.50 | 1.60 | 3.80 | 2.20 | 1.50 |
| Rest of India | 0.50 | 0.40 | 1.80 | 0.50 | 0.50 |
| Overseas | NA | 0.40 | 4.00 | 1.70 | 1.50 |
| Theatrical Total | 23.83 | 24.90 | 46.80 | 32.50 | 27.00 |
| Satellite | 6.00 | 6.50 | 9.50 | 9.50 | 7.50 |
| Music & Others | 1.50 | 2.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 |
| Total | 31.33 | 32.90 | 60.30 | 46.00 | 38.50 |
