"Sarainodu" (Sarrainodu), which opened to a good response and made decent collections at the U.S. box office in the first weekend, has failed to beat the opening records of Allu Arjun's previous movies, "Race Gurram" (RC) and "S/o Satyamurthy" (SOS).
Allu Arjun's previous releases, "RC" and "SOS," had turned out to be big money spinners for the actor at the U.S. box office. Their success had generated lot of curiosity about his latest outing, "Sarainodu." The hype surrounding the film helped its makers sell its overseas distribution rights for a record price of Rs. 7.50 crore.
The distributors had released "Sarainodu" in 160 screens in North America to cash in on the Bunny mania in the region. They also held premiere shows for the film in several locations on Thursday night. The movie registered a decent response and remained steady at the ticket counters over the weekend.
"Sarainodu" has collected $678,519 (Rs. 4.52 crore) at the U.S. box office in the first weekend. The Allu Arjun, Rakul Preet-starrer has topped the U.S. chart for Indian movies this weekend. Its per-screen average stands at $4,240. Taran Adarsh tweeted, "Telugu film #Sarrainodu - USA: Thu pre $ 197,454, Fri $ 198,484, Sat $ 192,254, Sun $ 90,327. Total: $ 678,519 [₹ 4.52 cr]. @Rentrak."
Allu Arjun's "Race Gurram" had collected $844,101 at the U.S. box office in its opening weekend. Taran Adarsh had tweeted on April 13, 2014, "#RaceGurram Thu $ 102,782, Fri $ 205,823, Sat $ 309,731 [some sites yet to report]. Total: $ 618,336 [Rs 3.73 cr]. Reported screens. Superb!" He had added on 14 Apr 2014, "Telugu film #RaceGurram - USA - opng wknd: $ 844,101 [Rs 5.08 cr]. Reported screens. FANTASTIC. Source: Rentrak."
Bunny's next outing shattered this record and set up a new benchmark, by collecting $1,111,489 at the U.S. box office in its four-day-extended first weekend. Taran Adarsh had tweeted on April 13, 2015, "#SonOfSatyaMurthy -USA:Wed+Thu $487,114,Fri $238,990, Sat $283,521, Sun $101,864. Total: $1,111,489 [₹ 6.94 cr]." @alluarjun"
"Race Gurram" was released in less than 100 screens while "S/o Satyamurthy" was shown in over 130 screens. Since "Sarainodu" was released in 160 screens, it was expected to cross the $1-million mark at the U.S. box office and shatter the records of both the movies. But the Boyapti Srinu-directed project has failed to do so, and lags behind with a big margin.