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The Sankranthi festive season may have concluded, but the buzz around Telugu cinema continues as Venkatesh’s Sankranthiki Vasthunnam has emerged as the undisputed blockbuster of this year’s Pongal releases, dominating the box office and securing its place as the clear winner.

Directed by Anil Ravipudi, Sankranthiki Vasthunnam was the final Pongal release but swiftly became the biggest hit of the festive season. The family entertainer, which has garnered unanimous positive feedback, raked in over Rs. 131 crores in just four days, crossing the breakeven mark in all regions. It is expected to generate substantial profits for all parties involved by the end of the weekend, marking it as a true success.

In second place comes Nandamuri Balakrishna’s Daaku Maharaaj, directed by Bobby Kolli. The film also performed admirably, grossing more than Rs. 100 crores at the box office. In its first six days, it recovered 82% of its investment and is on track to surpass the breakeven point by the weekend.

However, the most high-profile release of the season, Game Changer, turned out to be an unfortunate disappointment. Despite grossing Rs. 170 crore, the film fell significantly short of expectations, with a share of only Rs. 88 crore. To break even, the film needed a share of over Rs. 220 crore, meaning it incurred a loss of more than Rs. 130 crore. For producer Dil Raju, the only silver lining amid Game Changer’s failure is the massive success of Sankranthiki Vasthunnam, which has helped mitigate the financial blow from Game Changer’s underperformance. Notably, both films were produced by Dil Raju, with Daaku Maharaaj also being distributed by him in the Nizam region.