After a series of flops like '2.0', 'Darbar' and 'Annaathhe', Tamil superstar Rajnikanth regains his winning streak in two Telugu states by garnering Rs 16 crores (net collections) in four days flat for 'Jailer'. "Rajinikanth had surely made a big comeback in two Telugu states and proved that his charisma among Telugu audience is still intact," says a distributor, who claims that the action entertainer will eventually touch Rs 20 crores in a week and could go further.
“Rajinikanth mannerisms and subtle performance have lured crowds in a big way and the action film is bound to draw repeat audiences. As he excelled in an anger-driven role and his stylized action sequences have been drawing claps in theatres and it is doing very well in B&C centers,” he adds.
Actually, Telugu distributors were wary of buying dubbing rights of ‘Jailer’ initially since his last few films have bombed in Telugu states. “Tamil producers demanded Rs 12 crores and Telugu buyers were reluctant to cough up the whopping amount, considering his earlier flops. Finally, it was traded for Rs 6 crores and now it is minting money at the box office. It is going to be one of the biggest hits in his career after blockbusters like ‘Robo’, 'Muthu’ and 'Narasimha' in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana,” the distributor points out.
With his arch-rival Chiranjeevi’s film 'Bhola Shankar' failing to take off, it helped Rajinikanth in a big way. “Rajninkanth should thank Chiranjeevi otherwise it would have been difficult to draw tremendous openings. Director Nelson has offered a feast to his fans and they have lapped it up despite critics panning the movie,” he concludes.
Summing it up, leading distributor Sunil Narang. who released the movie in Telugu, says "It is a blockbuster and I can't reveal the exact figure right now. I'll let you know in two days. It is true that we added theatres since the word-of-mouth publicity is attracting crowds from the matinee show on Thursday and it is rocking the Telugu box office."
