Telugu movie "Pelli Choopulu" has made decent collection at the U.S. box office in the first weekend. The film has fared better than "Dishoom" and pushed "Kabali" down to the second place in the business chart.
"Pelli Choopulu" is a shoe-string budget movie made with Rs. 1.35 crore. The movie has been directed by debutante Tharun Bhascker and features less popular actors like Vijay Devarakonda and Ritu Varma in the lead roles. The film did not have massive promotion or hype and trade experts did not predict anything big about its performance at the box office.
The Tharun Bhascker-directed romantic comedy film was released in over 50 cinema halls across North America on July 29. "Pelli Choopulu" was premiered in several locations in the country on Thursday night and got good response everywhere. The movie collected $17,342 at the U.S. box office in the paid previews and received positive talk from the audience there.
The word of mouth helped the Vijay Devarakonda and Ritu Varma starrer get good opening on Friday and go strength to strength on the following days. "Pelli Choopulu" has collected $293,650 (Rs. 1.96 crore) from 50+ screens at the U.S. box office in its opening weekend. Taran Adarsh tweeted: "Telugu film #Pellichoopulu is SUPER in USA: Thu $ 17,342, Fri $ 57,624, Sat $ 112,129, Sun $ 106,555. Total: $ 293,650 [₹ 1.96 cr]. @Rentrak"
"Pelli Choopulu" has beaten the opening weekend record of Sharwanand's Sankranti release "Express Raja," which collected $252,691 (Rs. 1.71 crore) at the U.S. box office in its five-day first weekend. Taran Adarsh had tweeted on Jan 18, 2016: "#ExpressRaja - USA: Wed + Thu $ 45,963, Fri $ 43,761, Sat $ 80,425, Sun $ 82,379. Wed to Sun total: $ 252,691 [₹ 1.71 cr]. @RentrakIndia."
The much-talked-about new Bollywood release "Dishoom" has collected $347,797 (Rs. 2.33 crore) from 96 screens at the U.S. box office in its opening weekend. Its per-screen average is $3,622, which is much lower than that of "Pelli Choopulu," which has raked in an average of $5,873 per screen. "Dishoom" topped the U.S. business chart for Indian movies, while "Pelli Choopulu" landed in the second place.
"Kabali," which topped the U.S. business chart in its opening weekend, has witnessed steep decline in its numbers in the second week. The Rajinikanth-starrer has collected $188,536 from 132 screens at the U.S. box office in its second weekend, taking its 10-day total to $4,077,903 (Rs. 27.23 crore). Its per-screen average is $1,428 and the film has landed in the third spot in the U.S. business chart for Indian movies.
