The Raja Saab box office collection day 10: Prabhas film crashes in second weekend, fails to cross Rs 150 crore in India

Led by Prabhas and directed by Maruthi, the fantasy horror comedy The Raja Saab was released in the theatres on January 9, ahead of the Pongal and Sankranti festivities. The film opened strongly at the box office with collections of Rs 100.60 crore worldwide and Rs 62.90 crore net in India (including Rs 9.15 crore from paid previews on January 8) on its first day. However, the Prabhas-starrer has been struggling at the box office since then due to negative reviews and poor word-of-mouth with critics and audiences criticising the movie for its convoluted screenplay, dragged narrative, awkward dialogues, and weak direction. Some even termed it as "one of the biggest cinematic disappointments in the recent times."

After massive decline in its earnings on weekdays, The Raja Saab ended its first week with Rs 130 crore at the domestic box office. During its second weekend, the film was expected to pick up and gain momentum. However, the Maruthi directorial has crashed at the box office in the last three days. On its second Friday and second Saturday, the horror comedy collected Rs 3.5 crore and Rs 3 crore, respectively. On its second Sunday, the tenth day since its release, The Raja Saab plummeted further and earned just Rs 2.5 crore, as per the early estimates from the entertainment tracking portal Sacnilk. Thus, the Prabhas-starrer earned just Rs 9 crore in its second weekend, taking its net domestic collection to Rs 139 crore.

The Raja Saab director Maruthi has blamed the audiences for the film's poor reception. Speaking at a post-release event, he said, "People watch a film for about three hours on screen, but it is the result of nearly three years of relentless effort, stress, learning, and creative struggle. When such work is mocked or dismissed so easily, it does hurt, even if we choose to stay silent. Viewers watched The Raja Saab in a festive mood, expecting light entertainment. This may have stopped them from fully connecting with the deeper layers of the narrative."

Apart from Prabhas, The Raja Saab also stars Sanjay Dutt, Boman Irani, Nidhhi Agerwal, Malavika Mohanan, Riddhi Kumar and Zarina Wahab in pivotal roles. It is bankrolled by TG Vishwa Prasad and Krithi Prasad, and Ishan Saksena under their banners People Media Factory and IVY Entertainment. The horror comedy was initially slated to release on April 10 and December 5 last year, but was postponed due to multiple delays in its post-production and VFX work.

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