Tamil film Dude started off well yesterday, collecting Rs. 11.25-11.50 crore approx at the Indian box office. This marks the career best first day collections for Pradeep Ranganathan, surpassing his previous best of Rs. 8 crore by Dragon earlier this year. Overseas, the film has grossed Rs. 6.50 crore, including previews, giving it a worldwide opening day of Rs. 18 crore approx.
The opening in Tamil Nadu is mostly similar to Dragon, being about 15 per cent higher, at around Rs. 6.25 crore approx. Karnataka is about the same. The leap has come from the Telugu states, where Dude collected Rs. 3.75 crore against Rs. 1.25 crore of Dragon. Kerala is also significantly better than Dragon.
The real value of this opening is probably even better, as there is a pre-Diwali effect in play, which tends to be a slow period at the box office. That will be the case over the weekend as well, but things shall improve Monday onwards on Diwali day. Generally, the Diwali boost remains for a couple of days, so the film is going to be on elevated levels during the weekdays.
The previous two films by Pradeep, Love Today and Dragon, showcased brilliant legs, emerging as SUPER HITs. Love Today grossed Rs. 60 crore in Tamil Nadu from less than Rs. 3 crore first day, while Dragon went on to collect over Rs. 75 crore from Rs. 5.50 crore. Dude has a better starting point than those two; it needs to be seen what it makes of it.
The Territorial Breakdown for the First Day Box Office Collections of Dude in India is as follows:
Area
Gross
Tamil Nadu
Rs. 6.25 cr.
Karnataka
Rs. 0.85 cr.
APTS
Rs. 3.65 cr.
Kerala
Rs. 0.50 cr.
Rest of India
Rs. 0.10 cr.
INDIA
Rs. 11.35 cr.
