Vishnu Manchu has been struggling to deliver a box-office hit in recent years.
Hoping to break his streak of flops and revive his career, he went all-in with Kannappa, making a massive investment using both his own funds and those of his father, Mohan Babu.
Aware that his name alone wouldn’t guarantee strong openings, Vishnu strategically brought in top stars like Prabhas, Mohanlal, and Akshay Kumar to generate nationwide buzz.
In that sense, he succeeded — Kannappa became the first project to give him recognition beyond the Telugu-speaking audience.
However, despite the star power and initial hype, the film underperformed at the box office.
The Hindi version, featuring Akshay Kumar and Prabhas, saw poor collections, and the Malayalam release with Mohanlal in a central role also failed to leave an impression.
Globally, Kannappa grossed around â¹42 crore — Vishnu’s best in recent years — but it still ended up as a major theatrical loss. The earnings fell far short of recouping its massive budget.
Vishnu is now attempting to minimize the damage through OTT and satellite rights.
Although a streaming deal is already in place, he is reportedly renegotiating for a higher price to reduce losses.
The final extent of the financial shortfall will only be known once all non-theatrical revenue streams are finalized.