'Shaakuntalam' box office: Samantha Ruth Prabhu starrer records massive drop
Samantha Ruth Prabhu graced the big screens with her highly-anticipated Shaakuntalam, which was released this Friday. Inspired by Kalidasa's play Abhijnanashakuntalam, the film recorded decent earnings of around Rs. 5cr on the opening day, following mixed reactions from audiences and critics alike. On the second day of its release, however, the mythological drama witnessed a drop. Here's a breakdown of the second-day collections.
Why does this story matter?
Ever since Ruth Prabhu unveiled her looks from Shaakuntalam, fans have been waiting eagerly to throng the theaters to watch the film. But contrary to expectations, despite Ruth Prabhu and Malayalam actor Dev Mohan's much-appreciated performances, the film failed to sell tickets at the box office. Shaakuntalam marked the debut of Mohan in the Telugu film industry, which also created hype around the film.
Day 2 collections: 'Shaakuntalam' earned only Rs. 1.5 crore
As per early estimates, Shaakuntalam witnessed a significant dip on the second day of its release (Saturday) and minted only Rs. 1.5 crore at the domestic box office. The weekend collections were supposed to be better than the opening day, but that doesn't seem to be the case. A pan-India release, Shaakuntalam needs to pick up the pace to post an overall decent total.
'Shaakuntalam' performing well in Telugu states
Despite being a pan-India release, the film could not gather huge crowds in all markets. Shaakuntalam saw an overall occupancy of 20.59% in Telugu-speaking states on Saturday. Originally, it was slated to release on February 17, alongside Kartik Aaryan's Shehzada and Paul Rudd's Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, but the makers eventually postponed the magnum opus due to CGI and 3D work, said reports.
'Shaakuntalam' in nutshell
The film, which depicts the epic love story of Shakuntala and the Puru dynasty's king Dushyant, features Ruth Prabhu in the titular role and Malayalam star Mohan as the aforementioned king. The larger-than-life mythological drama is co-produced by Dil Raju and is reportedly made on a whopping budget of Rs. 60-80 crore. To note, Shaakuntalam also features Telugu superstar Allu Arjun's daughter Allu Arha.
