MCA vs Hello box office collection: Nani and Akhil's films turn big money-spinners in US in 1st weekend

Nani's MCA (Middle Class Abbayi) and Akhil Akkineni's Hello have made decent collections at the US box office in the first weekend.

Nani is one of the popular Telugu actors in North America and the success of his previous films is proof for his fanbase in the country. On the other hand, Akhil Akkineni had gone to promote Hello in the US with Baahubali actor Rana Daggubati. It was predicted that the two films would clash and eat away each other's prospects.

MCA was premiered in 150 screens across the US on Wednesday and garnered a record-breaking response for Nani. The movie got mixed word of mouth and it clashed with Hello from the second day. These two factors slightly took a toll on its business over the weekend.

MCA has collected $722,857 (Rs 4.63 crore) at the US box office in the four-day-extended first weekend. Taran Adarsh tweeted: "Telugu film #MiddleClassAbbayi #MCA - USA... Wed + Thu $ 423,272 Fri $ 109,580 Sat $ 112,966 Sun $ 77,039 Total: $722,857 [₹ 4.63 cr] @Rentrak."

Its collection is bigger when compared to many other big-ticket films of the year. But MCA could not beat the records of Nani's previous outings Nenu Local and Ninnu Kori, which minted $750,628 and $799,199 at the US box office in their opening weekends.

On the other hand, Hello was premiered in over 170 screens across the country on Thursday. Having garnered fantastic response in the preview shows, the movie shattered the lifetime record of Akhil's debut movie Akhil: the Power of Jua. The film grew strength to strength on the following days.

Hello has collected $ 614,346 (Rs 3.93 crore) at the US box office in the first weekend. Taran Adarsh tweeted: "Telugu film #Hello - USA... Thu $ 213,587 Fri $ 152,670 Sat $ 150,296 Sun $ 97,793 Total: $ 614,346 [₹ 3.93 cr] @Rentrak"