'HanuMan' box office: Teja Sajja's superhero flick sees slight decline
Prasanth Varma's Telugu superhero film HanuMan—starring Teja Sajja—has dominated the box office since its January 12 release. Despite facing tough competition from Guntur Kaaram, Captain Miller, and Merry Christmas, HanuMan has managed to hold its ground. On its third Friday (day 22), the film reached a staggering Rs. 181.65cr in India. Notably, HanuMan tells the story of Hanumanthu (Sajja), a young man who acquires superpowers after finding a totem in his village.
Why does this story matter?
In 2018, Varma marked his feature film directorial debut with Awe!—a contemplative psychological thriller featuring Kajal Aggarwal, Nithya Menen, Murali Sharma, and others. Following this, he received acclaim for Kalki (2019) and Zombie Reddy (2021). Despite Sajja being relatively new as a lead actor, the film's grounded sensibilities and compelling visuals earned positive reviews from critics and audiences, contributing to another success in Varma's portfolio of work.
'HanuMan's domestic box office collection and occupancy rates
Sacnilk reported that HanuMan earned an estimated Rs. 1.3cr on the third Friday, bringing its domestic total to Rs. 181.65cr. The Telugu screenings had an occupancy rate of 18.78%, with the largest audience turnout during the night shows (22.52%). It had an overall 10.59% Hindi occupancy. This revenue is noteworthy as it comes at a time when Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone's Fighter have dominated screens.
Biggest Sankranti blockbuster in 92 years of Tollywood history: Reports
After a successful 20-day run in theaters, the film made sensational headlines, declaring HanuMan as the biggest Makar Sankranti blockbuster in 92 years of Tollywood history. Despite the usual challenges films face during the Sankranti season, where multiple releases compete at the box office, HanuMan is reported to have shattered records by achieving a remarkable $5M in US earnings. Sajja aside, the film also featured Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, Amritha Aiyer, and Vinay Rai in pivotal roles.
'HanuMan's sequel and expansion of Varma's cinematic universe
On January 22, when the Pran Pratishtha ceremony at Ayodhya's Ram Mandir took place, Varma announced that pre-production work for the sequel, Jai HanuMan, had begun. The first film concluded with a cliffhanger, setting the stage for the sequel's plot. The role of Lord Hanuman in the sequel is yet to be determined. In addition to Jai HanuMan, Varma intends to create another movie called Adhira as part of his Prashanth Varma Cinematic Universe (PVCU).
