The Raja Saab Box Office Collection Day 12: Prabhas-Starrer Horror Comedy Crashes and Burns, Fails to Earn Even Rs 1 Crore
Led by Prabhas and directed by Maruthi, the fantasy horror comedy The Raja Saab hit theatres on January 9, just ahead of the Pongal and Sankranti festivities. The film opened to a thunderous response at the box office, amassing Rs 100.60 crore worldwide and Rs 62.90 crore net in India on its opening day, including Rs 9.15 crore from paid previews on January 8. However, this early success quickly fizzled out, with the film struggling to maintain momentum amid growing backlash over its patchy screenplay, shaky logic, jarring dialogues, and lackluster direction. Critics and viewers have labeled it as “one of the biggest cinematic disappointments in recent times.”
In its first 11 days, The Raja Saab grossed Rs 140.70 crore, with the original Telugu version contributing a significant Rs 115.48 crore. Unfortunately, the Hindi-dubbed version didn’t fare well, earning only Rs 23.51 crore, while Tamil, Kannada, and Malayalam versions collected just Rs 1.09 crore, 39 lakh, and 23 lakh respectively. On its 12th day, the Prabhas-starrer witnessed a full-blown collapse at the box office, managing only Rs 73 lakh across all five languages, according to early estimates from entertainment tracking portal Sacnilk.
Director Maruthi expressed his frustration over the film’s poor reception, stating, “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.” He suggested that the festive mood may have prevented viewers from fully connecting with the deeper layers of the narrative.
Alongside Prabhas, The Raja Saab features notable actors such as Sanjay Dutt, Boman Irani, Nidhhi Agerwal, Malavika Mohanan, Riddhi Kumar, and Zarina Wahab in key roles. The film is produced by TG Vishwa Prasad, Krithi Prasad, and Ishan Saksena under the banners of People Media Factory and IVY Entertainment. Originally slated for release on April 10 and then December 5 last year, the horror-comedy faced multiple delays due to extended post-production and VFX work.
