In a rare turn of events,an Indian film topped the domestic box officeon Thursday, grossing over twice the combined total ofBeetlejuice BeetlejuiceandTransformers One. The epic action filmDevara: Part 1grossed more than $2.8 million in Thursday previews, as it heads towards a huge opening weekend haul. By comparison,Beetlejuice BeetlejuiceandTransformers One— both titles belonging to major franchises — generated a combined total of $2.5 million on the same day.
Why isDevarabreaking through like this, you might ask. That’s because it starsN.T. Rama Rao Jr., better known asJr. NTR.Devarais his first film after the global success of directorS.S. Rajamouli’sRRR, which he headlined along withRam Charan. It’s been two years sinceRRRemerged as a crossover hit in North America, and rode a wave of positive buzz all the way tovictory in the Best Original Song category at the Oscars. The winning song, “Naatu Naatu,” prominently featured Jr. NTR. Anticipation for his follow-up toRRRhas been incredibly high, and as expected,Devaraispoised to deliver one of the year’s biggest openings for an Indian film.
The year’s top-grossing Indian film remainsKalki 2898 AD; the movie generated around $21 million globally on day one, and eventually tapped out with around $110 million worldwide, of which $18 million came from North America. By comparison,RRRmade around $150 million globally, of which $14 million came from North America. Last year, a trio of Indian films —Pathaan,Jawan, andAnimal— managed to crack the $100 million milestone globally. It should be noted thatbox office reporting in India isn’t as strictly regulated as it is in the United States, and generally, what the studios say is considered official.
Early Reviews for ‘Devara’ Have Been Mixed
LikeKalki 2898 AD, and last year’sSalaar: Part 1 — Ceasefire— both movies starringPrabhas—Devarais the first installment of a planned series. Directed byKortala Siva, the movie features Jr. NTR in a dual role, and in a story that spans decades.Saif Ali Khanstars as the antagonist, whose familial resentment puts him on collision course with the protagonist. LikeRRRandKalki 2898 AD,Devarais a Telugu-language film, which means that itcan’t be called a “Bollywood” movie— that term is used only for films set in the Hindi language.India has multiple regional-language film industriesthat operate independently of each other. Recent years have witnessed the rise of the pan-Indian hit — movies that work across the culturally diverse country, regardless of region.Devarahas been designed to fit into this bracket.
Also starringJanhvi Kapoor,Shruthi Marathe,Prakash RajandShine Tom Chacko,Devarais playing in theaters. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates, and watch theDevaratrailer here.
