The path thatS.S. Rajamouli’sRRRpaved a couple of years ago is taking shape now. This week saw the blockbuster filmPushpa 2: The RuleovertakingRRRat the global box office, in a grand passing of the baton moment for Indian cinema. After the film’s record-breaking debut, this was a foregone conclusion. And now, it’s only a matter of time beforePushpa 2eclipses another Rajamouli hit,Baahubali 2: The Conclusion. Directed bySukumar, the film starsAllu ArjunandRashmika Mandanna, and serves as a sequel to 2021’sPushpa: The Rise.
According to the producers, Mythri Movie Makers,Pushpa 2has grossed over ₹1,400 crore worldwide, which converts toover $160 million. This puts the film around $10 million aboveRRR, and fellow Indian blockbusterKGF: Chapter 2. What this also means is thatPushpa 2is nowthe third-biggest Indian film in history, behindBaahubali 2, which concluded its global run with around $200 million, and the sports dramaDangal, which generated around $230 million worldwide in 2016. It has also overtaken two recent hits starring the iconicShah Rukh Khan,JawanandPathaan.
Inspired by the “Angry Young Man” films of the 1970s,Pushpa 2deals with the central theme of class conflict and follows the rise of a lowly goon to a criminal overlord. The movieopened to mostlypositive reviews, which is certainly helping it stay afloat at the box office. Star-driven Indian tent-poles tend to be front-loaded, butPushpa 2delivered record numbers in its second weekend as well. In an unusual achievement for an Indian title, it retained a spot in the domestic top 10 inweekend number two, pushing its total past the $13 million mark. The highest-grossing Indian film at the North American box office remainsBaahubali 2, which made over $20 million in 2017.
Can ‘Pushpa 2’ Become the Highest-Grossing Indian Film of All Time?
More recently, the science-fiction epicKalki 2898 ADgrossed $18 million in North America, introducing a new set of audiences to the flamboyant visual grammar of mainstream Indian cinema.Kalki,RRR, andPushpa 2are all Telugu-language films, which means that theydon’t fall into the bracket of “Bollywood"cinema. The term applies only toHindi-language films; India has several regional industries that operate independently of each other.
Pushpa 2will get a sequel, tentatively titledPushpa 3: The Rampage. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
