Hi movie lovers, what's up? Have you heard about Nandamuri Balakrishna's 109th movie Daku Maharaj? This mass action drama, which released on January 12, 2025, during the Sankranti rush, created a buzz at the box office even before its release! A huge budget of Rs. 140 crores, a pre-release business of Rs. 82 crores—oh, this is the highest pre-release figure in Balayya's career! Bobby Kolli's direction, Bobby Deol's Telugu debut, Naga Vamsi's production, Thaman S's music—all these combined have turned the movie into a business beast. What is this pre-release business buzz? How did this movie shake the market? Randra, let's talk about movies for a while, is the popcorn ready?
Huge budget: Rs. 140 crores mass investment!
Daku Maharaj means grand scale from the beginning! Produced by Naga Vamsi and Sai Sowjanya under the banner of Sitara Entertainments, Fortune Four Cinemas, and Srikara Studios, the budget of this film is Rs. 140 crores (including promotion expenses)! Balayya's star power, Bobby Deol's Bollywood appeal, a star cast like Pragya Jaiswal, Shraddha Srinath, Urvashi Rautela, Thaman S's music, Vijay Karthik Kannan's cinematography—all these together justify this budget. As @NBK_Unofficial wrote in X, "Daku Maharaj Market has acquired the highest business in Balayya's career!" The film is made with stylish action, emotional drama, and mass elements, which is why the producers invested heavily. The film needs to achieve a gross of Rs. 85 crores to break even, but if you look at the pre-release business, that target is easy
Pre-release business: Record with Rs. 82 crores!
Daku Maharaj has bagged a pre-release business of Rs 82 crores before its release, making it the biggest deal of Balayya's career! This figure includes theatrical rights, digital rights, satellite rights and audio rights. The breakdown is as follows:
Theatrical rights: The film's rights in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana were sold for over Rs 50 crores. Distributors bet heavily on Balayya's fan base and the Sankranti season hype. Overseas rights were also sold in the Rs 10 crore range, boosted by the trailer event in Dallas, USA.
Digital rights: Netflix bagged the film's digital rights for Rs 20 crores. The deal was for the Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi versions along with Telugu.
Satellite Rights: TV broadcast rights were sold to leading Telugu channels in the range of Rs. 10-12 crores, due to Balayya's mass appeal and Sankranthi repeat telecast view ratings.
Audio, other rights: Audio rights and dubbing rights added Rs. 2-3 crores due to Thaman S Music (viral songs like "Dabidi Dibidi").
These deals guaranteed huge recovery to the producers before the film's release. As @TeluguPremiere wrote on X, "Is a recovery of 140-150 crores a failure for a Balayya film?"
Why such a huge business?
There are many reasons why Daku Maharaj's pre-release business touched the Rs. 82 crore mark:
Balayya's star power: Balayya's mass appeal is at its peak after back-to-back hits like Bhagwant Kesari and Veera Simha Reddy. The trailer promises dialogues and action scenes for the fans.
Sankranthi Hype: The January 12, 2025 release date has used the Sankranthi festival buzz. Despite facing challenges with films like Game Changer, Pushpa 2, and Sankranthikai Yaaranam, Balayya's fan base has given confidence to distributors.
Bobby Deol Debut: Bollywood star Bobby Deol's Telugu debut (as a villain) has created additional buzz in the Hindi market. The Hindi version was released on January 24, 2025.
Naga Vamsi Promotions: A trailer event in Dallas, a pre-release event in Hyderabad (although the Anantapur event was canceled), and viral songs like "Dabidi Dibidi" have created huge hype for the film.
Pan-India Appeal: With the release of Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi versions along with Telugu, the overseas and India wide market has been opened.
Story, Cast, Technical Boost!
The story of Daku Maharaj revolves around Sitaram (Balaiah)—who transforms into a Daku Maharaj and saves a little girl Vaishnavi, while putting an end to the illegal businesses of MLA Trimurthulu Naidu (Ravi Kishan) and his brother Manohar (Rishi). Bobby Deol plays the villain Balwant Thakur, while Pragya Jaiswal, Shraddha Srinath, Urvashi Rautela (in an item song), and Chandni Chaudhary are in supporting roles. Thaman S's music, Vijay Karthik Kannan's cinematography, and Ruben and Niranjan Devaramane's editing give the film a grand look. Due to this technical strength and star cast, distributors and OTT platforms have signed huge deals.
Sankranthi Competition: Get ready for a tough fight!
During the Sankranthi season, Daku Maharaj faced tough competition from big releases like Game Changer (Ram Charan, January 10), Pushpa 2 (Allu Arjun), and Sankranthiki Yaaraman (Venkatesh, January 14). But, Balayya's fan base, the Sankranthi holiday season, and the High Court's order to increase ticket prices for 10 days—all these gave a boost to the business. Advance bookings were also good in the overseas market, and the Dallas event added hype to it.
Conclusion: Ready for Sankranti hustle!
Daku Maharaj’s pre-release business reveals one thing—Balaiah is ruling the mass magic market! A budget of Rs. 140 crore, a pre-release business of Rs. 82 crore, a Netflix deal, and Sankranti hype—all of these have made the film a box office beast. This film is a Sankranti festival treat for Balaiah fans, and a big business deal for the industry! What do you feel about this business hustle? Share in the comments, bro! Let’s continue the movie talk!