Fireworks At Indian Box Office On Sankranti: Guntur Kaaram, HanuMan, Merry Christmas Mint ₹70 Crore

The Sankranti/Pongal holiday marked an iconic showdown between multiple releases on and around the day. Mahesh Babu starrer Guntur Karaam, Dhanush’s Captain Miller, Ayalaan and HanuMan entered a four-way clash on January 12. Additionally, Venkatesh Daggubati starrer Saindhav and Naa Saami Ranga featuring Nagarjuna hit the big screen a day later. The Malayalam film Abraham Ozler starring Jayaram also released on January 11. Among the Hindi releases was Katrina Kaif-Vijay Sethupathi starrer Merry Christmas. 

With seven major releases a few days apart, a box office comparison is imperative. However, together the films have sparked fireworks at the ticketing counter. Together, the six films released on January 11 and January 12 have amassed a total of ₹71.91 crore at the domestic box office, as per Sacnilk. The figure will grow further owing to the holidays and subsequent weekends.  

Guntur Karaam wins the five-way clash 

Guntur Kaaram has emerged as the highest-grosser among the Sankranti releases so far. The Mahesh Babu starrer minted ₹42 crore on its opening day, as per early estimates by Sacnilk. The film is directed by Trivikram and marks his third collaboration with the actor. On its opening day, the movie managed to surpass the Day 1 collection of Allu Arjun’s Pushpa 1: The Rise. 

HanuMan trails behind Guntur Karaam 

Teja Sajja starrer HanuMan is touted as a superhero film. Directed by Prashanth Verma the film was received well by critics and audiences alike. Its VFX and dialogues have particularly garnered the attention of social media users. As per an early estimate by Sacnilk, the movie has amassed a total of ₹11.91 crore on its opening day. 

Dhanush starrer Captain Miller beats Ayalaan but trails behind Guntur Karaam and HanuMan 

Dhanush starrer Captain Miller was another big film that hit the big screen on January 12. The movie, which was expected to perform well, opened to a modest ₹8.65 crore at the domestic box office. 

Ayalaan opens to a good start 

Ayalaan is a sci-fiction thriller in Tamil language. The film released on January 12, and has minted ₹4 crore at the box office. The film got around 400 screens in Tamilnadu, while its total screen count across other states fell short compared to the other releases the same week. 

Merry Christmas gets a dim start 

Katrina Kaif and Vijay Sethupathi share the screen space for the first time in the film Merry Christmas. The movie minted ₹2.55 crore on its crore in India. In the Hindi language alone, the Sriram Raghavan directed raked in ₹2.3 crore, 0.22 crore in Tamil and 0.03 crore in Telugu. However, the film was expected to open to a larger amount since it was the sole Hindi release. 

Abraham Ozler comes close to Captain Miller’s day 1 collection in 2 days 

Released a day before the other films, Jayram’s Abraham Ozler received largely positive reviews. The film opened to a decent ₹2.8 crore at the domestic box office and followed with ₹2.15 crore on day 2. The film’s total collection now stands at ₹4.95 crore, as per Sacnilk. 

While the seven films released on and around Pongal, there were several that averted a box-office clash. Ravi Teja’s Eagle and Rajinikanth’s Laal Salaam were postponed to February 9 to avoid the overcrowded Sankranti weekend. The Telugu release of Captain Miller and Ayalaan was also deferred owing to the clash.