Top 6 highest-grossing Telugu flicks at the American box-office

As predicted by trade pundits a decade ago, the market for Telugu cinema in the overseas region, particularly in the USA has raised to astonishing levels in recent times. The latest to justify that is Vijay Deverakonda’s rom-com ‘Geetha Govindam’ which collected almost half-a-million dollars with its preview shows itself.

While Rs 50 crore and Rs 100 crore clubs are yardsticks for the box-office performance in the domestic circuit, $1 million dollars or more is considered to be a success in the United States. A lead actor or director with a couple of million dollar flicks to their credit are said to have entered the big leagues of Tollywood.

With two films in the top 5, Mahesh Babu has been a massive star in the overseas market for a long time and even his flop films would easily make around a million dollars. Check out the top 6 highest-grossing Telugu films at the American box-office.

Released as a sequel to 2015 blockbuster ‘Baahubali’, this SS Rajamouli’ magnum opus is the highest-grossing Indian film in the U.S. market and the first film to cross the Rs 100-crore mark in North America. Shattering all existent records both on home turf and abroad, ‘Baahubali 2: The Conclusion’ has collected a total gross of approx. $20 million at the American box-office which includes numbers from all Indian languages. Featuring Prabhas as the protagonist and Rana Dagubatti in the antagonist’s role, the epic warfare has managed to reach the towering expectations of the audience.

The first part of the fantasy folklore caused a massive stir across the country with its trailer itself. Upon release, ‘Baahubali’ stunned the viewers with its breath-taking visuals, intense action sequences, and the perfect star cast hailing from all quarters of South cinema. This first instalment in the Baahubali franchise netted a total of approx. $8 million in the USA from all the three languages (Telugu, Tamil & Hindi).

Ram Charan’s periodic action drama ‘Rangasthalam’ had set the cash registers ringing right from its release day on March 30. The Sukumar directorial has raked in over approx. $3.5 million at the U.S. box-office in four weeks, thus becoming the first non-Baahubali movie to do so. With an ensemble cast like Samantha Akkineni, Aadhi Pinisetty, Jagapati Babu, and Prakash Raj, the rural film showcased Ram Charan in a rustic avatar as a hearing-impaired man.

The biggest hit in Mahesh Babu’s 19-year-old film career, ‘Bharat Ane Nenu’ has bagged a whopping Rs 205 crore in three weeks at the worldwide box-office. Helmed by Koratala Siva after his hat-trick super hits, the political thriller managed to earn approx. $3.4 Million at the American ticket counters. The film also marked the debut of the gorgeous Kiara Advani as the leading lady opposite the superstar of Tollywood.

American box-office has always been a strong forte for Mahesh Babu and his 2015 blockbuster ‘Srimanthudu’ is no exception to that. After two back-to-back failures with ‘1: Nenokkadine’ and ‘Aagadu’, the Koratala Siva directorial has reconfirmed the 43-year-old’s position as one among the top crowd-pullers in the country. With U.S. audiences embracing the picture big time, the social-action drama has clocked in over approx. $2.8 million during its full run.

Keerthy Suresh’s ‘Mahanati’ has turned out to be a money-spinner in both the domestic and overseas market. Tracing the life of legendary South Indian actress Savitri from the 1940s to 1980s, the Nag Ashwin directorial has fetched a total amount of approx. $2.5 million from the American ticket counters. This is the first heroine-centric film in Tollywood to cross over $2 million on the foreign turf. Made on a lavish scale, ‘Mahanati’ turned out to be a fitting tribute to the late lady superstar.