Key Points
- The Raja Saab earned ₹53.75 crore on opening day, dropped to ₹26 crore on day 2, fell further to ₹19.1 crore on day 3, and collapsed to ₹0.93 crore on Monday (day 4), a 98% decline from opening day.
- Total India net collection stands at ₹108.93 crore over four days, while worldwide gross reached approximately ₹154.10 crore in three days, far below the ₹400+ crore budget.
- Hindi belt performance is alarmingly weak, with day 3 earnings of only ₹4.65 crore, compared to Dhruva’s ₹6.15 crore on its 38th day.
- The film received mixed to negative reviews, with critics calling it a “disaster” and audiences rejecting the horror‑comedy experiment from an action star like Prabhas.
- Despite being the only Indian actor with six ₹100 crore worldwide openers, this is Prabhas’s lowest domestic opening weekend in four years since Radhe Shyam (₹90 crore).
Prabhas’s much‑anticipated horror‑comedy “The Raja Saab” made a thunderous entry into theaters on January 9, 2026, generating massive hype with bookings of ₹9.15 crore and an opening day collection of ₹53.75 crore. However, the film’s performance has deteriorated rapidly, with earnings plummeting to ₹0.93 crore on Monday (day 4), representing a catastrophic 98% drop from its opening day figures. The total India net collection over four days stands at a modest ₹108.93 crore, while the worldwide gross reached approximately ₹154.10 crore in three days, leaving the ₹400+ crore budget film in a precarious financial position.
The Alarming Decline
The film’s box office trajectory reveals a concerning pattern of continuous decline. After the strong opening day of ₹53.75 crore, collections dropped to ₹26 crore on Saturday (day 2), a decline of over 51%. Sunday (day 3) saw further erosion to ₹19.1 crore, and Monday’s early reports show a devastating collapse to ₹0.93 crore. This four‑day total of ₹108.93 crore is not final data and is subject to change, but the trend indicates severe audience rejection. Trade analysts note that while the film crossed the ₹100 crore mark in India within its opening weekend, this is a relatively modest feat for Prabhas, who has delivered some of Indian cinema’s biggest blockbusters. In fact, this is his lowest domestic opening weekend in four years since the 2022 disaster “Radhe Shyam,” which earned only ₹90 crore in its first three days.
Worldwide Performance and Budget Concerns
Despite the domestic struggles, “The Raja Saab” achieved the ₹100 crore worldwide mark on its opening day itself, with a global gross of ₹112 crore, making Prabhas the only Indian actor to score six films that opened above ₹100 crore worldwide. The three‑day worldwide collection reached approximately ₹154.10 crore, with overseas markets contributing ₹28.40 crore in the first two days. However, even this performance fails to justify the massive budget exceeding ₹400 crore, as the film hasn’t recovered even half its investment in the opening weekend. The horror‑comedy, directed by Maruthi and featuring Malavika Mohanan, Nidhhi Agerwal, and Riddhi Kumar, needed to earn at least ₹75 crore net from the Hindi version alone to be considered a safe venture for its buyers, a target that now appears unattainable.
Hindi Belt Disaster and Competition
The most surprising aspect of “The Raja Saab’s” performance is its abysmal showing in the Hindi belt. While the film earned only ₹4.65 crore on its third day in Hindi, Ranveer Singh’s “Dhruva,” which has been running for 38 days, collected ₹6.15 crore on the same day. This stark comparison clearly indicates that Prabhas’s film is facing tough competition even from older releases in the Hindi market. Despite having no major competition from other new releases, “The Raja Saab” failed to register promising numbers in North India, where Prabhas usually enjoys a strong pull after the “Baahubali” phenomenon.
Trade analysts attribute this weakness to mixed to negative reviews and audience rejection of seeing Prabhas in a lighthearted, comedic avatar after being accustomed to his action and mythological roles. The film’s occupancy rates tell the story, with Sunday showing only 22.62% drop from Saturday, but the overall trend remains downward. In Telugu‑speaking regions, the film maintained healthier occupancy at 39.41% on Sunday, with evening shows peaking at 47.66%, but this regional strength isn’t enough to offset the all‑India decline.
The Experiment Under Scrutiny
Prabhas is usually seen in action or mythological films, but in “The Raja Saab,” he appears in a lighthearted and comedic avatar. This experiment by the makers is now under scrutiny at the box office, as the film’s performance suggests audiences haven’t embraced this departure from his established image. The horror‑comedy genre, combined with Prabhas’s attempt at a different persona, appears to have backfired, with critics calling the film a “disaster” and social media buzzing with negative word‑of‑mouth.
The film’s music by Thaman S, which was expected to be a major strength, hasn’t been able to salvage the situation. While the songs received decent response, they couldn’t drive sustained footfall beyond the opening day. The Sankranti festival advantage, which typically boosts Telugu films in South India, is helping to some extent in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, but the lack of similar festive support in other regions is hurting overall collections.
Future Outlook and Break‑Even Status
With the current trajectory, “The Raja Saab” stares at a huge deficit, especially in North India, where there will be no Sankranti festival advantage, unlike the South market. The film needs to maintain strong collections through the week and hope for a revival during the extended weekend, but the Monday crash suggests this is unlikely. Trade experts predict that unless there’s a dramatic turnaround, the film will struggle to achieve break‑even status, making it one of the costliest experiments in recent Telugu cinema.
The box office competition is set to become even more interesting in the coming days, with upcoming releases potentially eating into whatever screens and shows “The Raja Saab” is currently holding. For now, the film’s declining earnings suggest that the massive budget, star power, and initial hype were not enough to guarantee success, and Prabhas’s attempt to diversify his repertoire may have come at a high cost.
