Telugu film Jersey has started on a good note and made a decent collection at the US box office in the premiere shows but failed to beat the records of Nani's Devadas (DD) and Krishnarjuna Yuddam (KY).
With his natural acting skills, Nani has made huge fan bases not just in India, but also in the US and a few other international markets. When star from mega and Akkineni other big families struggling to cross score $1 million mark, his movies like Bhale Bhale Magadivoy, Gentleman, Nenu Local, Ninnu Kori, MCA (Middle Class Abbayi) have done wonders at the US box office.
Hence, there was a huge demand for the overseas theatrical rights of Jersey. Blue Sky Cinemas acquired its rights for a whopping amount of Rs 3.50 crore. The distributors planned to premiere it in nearly 140 screens across the US on April 18. They tweeted its US schedule list on April 16 and wrote, "USA primers from April 18th, online advance booking opened in few locations more locations yet to open by today."
Having a good advance booking, the Nani and Shraddha Srinath starrer opened to decent response in the US in its preview shows on Thursday. As per early trends, Jersey has collected $126,203 at the US box office in the premiere shows. This number is likely to go up when the final figures are revealed.
Although Nani has a fanbase in the US, his last outing Devadas and Krishnarjuna Yuddam opened to an average response and turned flops in the country. But trade experts now feel that Jersey will not be able to beat the records of these movies in the premiere shows.
PaniPuri, which provides trustworthy collections from the US box office, tweeted, "#Jersey #USA Premieres Gross till 11:50PM PST $126,203 From 112 Locs(Average of 1,127/Location) Will end up less than #Devdas ($146k) and #KrishnarjunaYuddam ($165k) premieres. #Nani #ShraddhaSrinath #JERSEYOnApril19th."