Vinaya Vidheya Rama (VVR) opened to an average response and stooped before Petta at the US box office in its premieres, while the collection of Viswasam and NTR: Kathanayakudu hit rock bottom.
Ram Charan boasts of a huge fan base in the US and the huge success of Rangasthalam is a proof for his popularity. Its success generated huge hype for his latest outing Vinaya Vidheya Rama and made its theatrical rights sell at a record price.
The distributors made grand arrangements for its release in the US, but the hype could not translate into good advance booking for its premiere shows.
After seeing the hype, many in the film industry thought that Vinaya Vidheya Rama would start with a bang at the US box office and shatter the record of Ram Charan's Rangasthalam. They also expected to beat Petta and the leadership race on the day it was premiered in the country.
But the Boyapati Srinu-directed film opened to an average response in the preview shows on Thursday. As per early trends, Vinaya Vidheya Rama collected $87,897 from 113 locations at the US box office in its premiere shows. Many other screens are yet to report their numbers, but its final collection may not cross the record of Rangasthalam.
The Rajinikanth starrer, which made decent collections in the premiere shows, has also witnessed a steep decline in its numbers, but its collection is bigger than other new releases. As per early updates, Petta has collected $118,125 at the US box office on its first day and its final total is likely to go up.
The biopic of NT Rama Rao was affected by Petta and Viswasam on its opening day, whereas Vinaya Vidheya Rama has taken a toll on its collection on its second day. As per early updates, NTR: Kathanayakudu has collected $18,505 at the US box office on Thursday and its total stands at $594,426. The movie will surpass $600,000 mark in the country when its final figures are released.
On the other hand, the Ajith Kumar starrer opened to an average response in Wednesday premieres and the word of mouth has taken in its collection down on Thursday. Viswasam has collected $14,887 at the US box office and its total stands at $72,082, which is likely to increase when its final figures are released.
Idlebrain Jeevi tweeted, "Hourly gross of South Indian films on 10 January at 2:30 pm PST: #Petta (Tamil+Telugu): $118,125 (208 loc) #VinayaVidheyaRama: $87,897 (113 loc) #NTRKathanayakudu: $18,505 (114 loc) #Viswasam: $14,887 (74 loc)."