The Raja Saab, starring Prabhas alongside Sanjay Dutt, Nidhhi Agerwal, Malavika Mohanan, Riddhi Kumar, and Zarina Wahab, has ended its theatrical run on a highly disappointing note. Despite being mounted as a big-ticket fantasy horror-comedy, the film failed to live up to expectations, especially in overseas markets.
While the film continues to add marginal numbers in domestic circuits, its run in the most crucial overseas territory—North America (USA and Canada)—has officially concluded as a major disaster. Shockingly, The Raja Saab could not even cross the $2.5 million mark in the region. This comes as a huge setback, particularly in the wake of Prabhas’ Kalki 2898 AD achieving massive success in North America, which had set sky-high expectations for his next release.
Alarm bells had already started ringing during the advance booking phase, with ticket sales falling well short of trade projections. Still, the film managed a somewhat decent start by collecting $1.4 million from premieres and posting an opening-day total of $1.76 million, including premieres. However, the momentum dropped sharply soon after.
Poor word of mouth proved fatal, resulting in a steep decline in collections after the opening. The film eventually wrapped up its North American run with a total gross of just $2.356 million, approximately ₹21.64 crore. Of this, the USA contributed $2.168 million (₹19.92 crore), while Canada added a meagre $188,000 (₹1.72 crore).
Language-wise, the original Telugu version dominated the collections with $2.295 million (₹21.08 crore). The Hindi-dubbed version performed poorly, collecting only $58,000 (₹53.29 lakh), while the Tamil-dubbed version made an almost negligible contribution of $3,000 (₹2.75 lakh), underlining the film’s outright failure across markets.
Directed by Maruthi, The Raja Saab released in theatres on January 9 and was produced by T. G. Vishwa Prasad, Krithi Prasad, and Ishan Saksena under the banners of People Media Factory and IVY Entertainment. With reports suggesting a massive budget of around ₹500 crore, the film’s underwhelming performance has turned it into one of the biggest commercial disappointments in Prabhas’ career, particularly in the North American market.
Janasena MLA Arava Sridhar Faces Backlash Over Woman Abuse Allegations
Janasena is facing intense criticism following a scandal involving Railway Koduru MLA Arava Sridhar, who has been accused of physically exploiting a woman. Videos related to the incident are circulating widely on social media, intensifying public outrage.
Reacting to the matter, former Chief Minister and YCP president YS Jagan strongly condemned the MLA’s actions while speaking to the media. “I read about this Railway Koduru MLA in the newspaper. I am not sure if he even deserves to be called an MLA, or even a human being. How can someone in such a responsible position behave this way? He threatened and abused a woman for his own benefit,” Jagan said. Expressing his anger in Telugu, he added, “Asalu vadu oka manishena? Vadu oka MLA eh na?”
Jagan’s remarks have drawn a counter-reaction from Janasena supporters, who questioned his moral stance, noting that similar outrage was not shown when YCP leaders Ambati Rambabu and Gorantla Madhav were accused of misconduct toward women. The controversy highlights a worrying trend in Andhra Pradesh politics, where scandals involving the abuse of women have become a focal point of public discussion, reflecting poorly on the political climate.