Both "The Raja Saab" and "Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu" are facing challenges in the North American market due to limited theatre availability and relatively muted pre-release buzz.
Despite being the major Telugu releases for Sankranthi, their pre-sales performance has remained moderate so far.
"The Raja Saab" has collected close to USD 800K through premiere show pre-sales. It is expected to cross the USD 1 million mark before premieres begin, though trade expectations were higher, ideally around USD 1.5 million.
With director Maruthi not having strong box-office pull among the general audience, the film’s advance sales are largely riding on Prabhas’s star power.
On the other hand, "Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu" has delivered a surprising pre-sales performance.
Directed by Anil Ravipudi and headlined by Megastar Chiranjeevi, the film also features Victory Venkatesh, who recently scored a massive blockbuster with Sankranthiki Vasthunnam.
Given this combination and Chiranjeevi’s loyal fan base in North America, expectations were high.
However, the film has so far managed to cross just USD 200K in premiere pre-sales. That said, it still has four more days to go before premiere shows, leaving room for a late surge.
Overall, both films are now heavily dependent on positive word of mouth post-release to drive stronger box-office numbers in the US market.