India’s ‘K.G.F: Chapter 2’ Is Weekend’s Second Highest Grossing Film, With $70 Million Worldwide Opening

Naman Ramachandran
·3 min read
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

Prashanth Neel’s “K.G.F: Chapter 2,” starring Yash, was the second highest grossing film worldwide over the Easter weekend, with a $70.6 million gross, according to estimates released by Comscore. The weekend winner was “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” with $114.7 million.

Produced by Vijay Kiragandur for Hombale Films, “K.G.F: Chapter 2” was made on a budget of $13 million. Hombale have confirmed a four-day worldwide weekend gross of INR5.46 billion ($71.6 million)

More from Variety

“K.G.F: Chapter 2” is a sequel to 2018 film “K.G.F: Chapter 1” which earned $33 million, making it the highest grossing Kannada-language film of all time. Set during the 1970s and 1980s, the film followed the journey of gangster Rocky (Yash) and his bid to gain control of the Kolar Gold Fields. The sequel continues his journey and the stakes are higher with his opponents including the Prime Minister of India. The “KGF: Chapter 2” cast also includes well-known Bollywood actors Sanjay Dutt, Raveena Tandon and Prakash Raj.

The film released April 14, which is New Year’s Day for several Indian communities, in Kannada with dubbed Telugu, Tamil, Hindi and Malayalam-language versions. In the U.S., the film, distributed by Sarigama Cinemas and Viva Pictures, debuted in ninth position with a weekend collection of $2.8 million.

In its opening weekend, “K.G.F: Chapter 2” debuted bigger than the the opening weekend of another recent Indian blockbuster, S.S. Rajamouli’s “RRR,” starring NTR Jr and Ram Charan, which opened with $65 million and now has a cumulative of $140 million.

In India, the dubbed Hindi-language version of “K.G.F: Chapter 2” grossed $25.4 million over the four-day weekend, overtaking Rajamouli’s “Baahubali 2: The Conclusion,” which previously held the record with $20.9 million. The Hindi version is distributed by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani’s Excel Entertainment and AA Films. The release in Karnataka, where the film is from, is by Hombale, in Andhra Pradesh by a consortium including Vaaraahi Chalana Chitram, in Telengana by Sri Venkateshwara, Kerala by Prithviraj Productions and in Tamil Nadu by Dream Warrior Pictures.

“K.G.F: Chapter 2” played strongly on Imax screens locally and internationally. Its Imax opening in India exceeded that of “Spider-Man: No Way Home” and was worth $762,000. Worldwide, including India, the film earned $1.1 million from 95 Imax screens.

In West Asia, Singapore and Sri Lanka, the film is distributed by AP International, in Malaysia by DMY Creations, in Australia and New Zealand by Tolly Movies, across Europe by 4 Seasons International and in the U.K. by SSG Limited.

The other anticipated Indian film of the Easter weekend, Tamil-language film “Beast,” starring Vijay, opened to unflattering reviews and collected $25 million.

Next up for Neel is “Salaar,” featuring “Baahubali” franchise star Prabhas, and a project identified as NTR31, with “RRR” star NTR Jr.

Best of Variety

Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.