Saaho pre-release business: Prabhas-Shraddha film beats Baahubali 2 to be 2nd highest price after 2.0

Prabhas and Shraddha Kapoor's Saaho has received a brilliant response in its pre-release business. The film has fetched the second-highest price for Indian cinema after Rajinikanth's 2.0, beating the record of Rajamouli's Baahubali 2.

Saaho is Prabhas' next release after his historical blockbuster film Baahubali 2, the success of which created a massive hype for his latest film. The ensemble cast of popular Hindi, Telugu and Tamil actors doubled the expectations about the movie. Top-notch production values featured in its promos raised the viewers' curiosity sky high. The hysteria surrounding it generated a huge demanded for various rights of the flick.

After seeing the hype, several leading distribution houses, TV channels, music labels and digital studios were vying their hands to acquire the theatrical, satellite, audio and digital rights of Saaho, which is set for August 30 release. With the movie inching closer to its release date, we hear that the makers have already sealed all the deals and the Prabhas and Shraddha Kapoor starrer has got record prices for all its rights.

T-Series, which is presenting Hindi version of Saaho, has reportedly acquired its theatrical rights for north India for a whopping amount of Rs 70 crore. This studio also commands the satellite, music and digital rights of its Hindi versions. The bosses of this banner are yet to reveal the details of the sale of these rights. The film trade expert says that the prices of these rights are nothing less than Rs 100 crore.

It is reported that Amazon Prime has shelled out Rs 42 crore on the digital rights of Saaho and this deal includes the rights of over the top (OTT) platforms for its Telugu Tamil and Malayalam versions. A leading TV channel is said to have bagged the satellite rights of its Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam versions for a record sum of Rs 70 crore

The theatrical rights of Saaho have earned Rs 124 crore from the Telugu states, Rs 28 crore from Karnataka, Rs 20 crore from Tamil Nadu, Rs 6 crore from Kerela and Rs 42 crore from all the international markets. The movie has fetched a total of Rs 290 crore for its producers from the sale of its global distribution rights. The movie has landed in third place afte 2.0 (Rs 375 crore) and Baahubali 2 (Rs 350 crore). The movie fetched a huge table profit of over Rs 152 crores for them even before its release.

Directed by Sujeeth, Saaho is an extravagant action thriller. UV Creations has reportedly invested Rs 350 crore on its production and promotions. The movie has earned more than Rs 502 crore in its pre-release business. It has beaten Baahubali 2 (Rs 438 crore) to be the second-highest record after 2.0 (Rs 560 crore). It has fetched a huge table profit of over Rs 152 crores for them even before its release.

Here are the prices of the theatrical/distribution, satellite/TV, music/audio, digital rights of the Hindi, Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam versions of Saaho. These numbers are based on various sources and they may not be actual figures released by its producers. All the numbers are in rupees and crore.