Balakrishna starrer has an A rating.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: The Telugu film Legend made a huge splash at the US box office this past weekend, grossing over $300,000 between Thursday, March 27 and Saturday, March 29.
Indian box office website Idlebrain tweeted that the film, starring Telugu superstar Nandamuri Balakrishna, had a gangbusters opening in North America, grossing progressively more each day from its debut showings on Thursday, all the way through the lucrative Saturday night screenings. Reports indicate that the movie collected $88,500 on Thursday, $103,000 on Friday, and $121,000 on Saturday, bringing the total to $312,000 – and that doesn’t even include Sunday grosses.
The film is seeing similarly robust numbers in India, too, having accrued about Rs. 6.9 crore on its opening day in Andhra Pradesh. Despite a slight dip in receipts on Saturday, the film is expected to continue playing well for the rest of the week, but its future after this Friday is up in the air, as Telugu cinemas will see the release of Ram Gopal Varma’s Rowdy.
Surprisingly, Legend received an “A” (Adults only) certification from the Central Board of Film Certification, a.k.a. the Indian censors. Typically thought of as a prohibitive factor, as it limits the number of people who can come see a movie theatrically, the film is doing well in spite of that rating.
Legend’s budget is somewhere between Rs. 35 and Rs. 40 crore, which puts it at around $6-7 million. That’s a relatively modest budget for an Indian movie but somewhat big for a regional film. Despite that, it should have no major problems making back its budget.
The film is directed by Boyapati Sreenu, “and features Balakrishna appearing in dual roles. Sonal Chauhan, Radhika Apte, Jagapathi Babu and Brahmanandam play significant roles in the film, as well. The trailer for Legend can be found below: