USA BO: Hanuman reigns supreme, GK bites the dust

Sankranti dark horse Hanuman emerged as an epic blockbuster in the first weekend at US box office despite facing stiff competition from other biggies. Superstar Mahesh Babu’s much talked about film Guntur Kaaram has bitten the dust after taking a strong start. Venkatesh’s Saindhav also failed to make any impact and Nagarjuna’s Naa Saami Ranga took a moderate opening due to late release.

Hanuman, starring Teja Sajja, punched out a fantastic $ 2.5 million gross after having a dream run throughout the first weekend. The mythological action drama embarked on a phenomenal start with $ 386K from its Thursday premieres. There has been no stopping since then because the film notched up $ 518K on Friday and followed it up with a terrific $ 800K each on Saturday and Sunday respectively.

Hanuman now holds a rare record of being the third highest-grossing Telugu film on Sunday after Baahubali 2 and RRR. The Prashanth Neel directional has secured profits and will aim to surpass more milestones in the next few days. It is likely to enter the list of top-grossing Telugu films of all time in its full run.

Guntur Kaaram struggled badly on its way to the weekend after taking a sensational opening with $ 1.5 Million premieres due to the combo hype and mass promotions. The film failed to cross $ 300K on any day after the strong premieres and is struggling to touch the $ 2.3 M mark by the end of Sunday.

Venkatesh’s 75th film Saindhav grossed close to $ 200K in the first weekend. The action saga couldn’t garner much interest of the audience due to below-par reviews.

Nagarjuna’s Naa Saami Ranga opted for late premieres and collected a meagre $ 20K. On its first day, the rustic entertainer added another $ 30K. Despite decent reviews, the film couldn’t add much to its tally because of other releases.

Tamil films Captain Miller and Ayalaan grossed over $ 250K in the first weekend and are looking to breach into the half a million dollar club in their full run.