SS Rajamouli’s RRR earns Rs 17 lakh from a single screening in Los Angeles, details inside

RRR, a film by SS Rajamouli, is still making money, as it is being rereleased, as a part of the ongoing Beyond Fest in the US. On Saturday, the film had a single screening at the 932-seater TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles, where it collected $21,000, approximately Rs 17,09,000.

The 932 seats at the theatre were reportedly sold out in 20 minutes, according to a Deadline report.

The movie made $21,000 from the single showing, bringing its total box office revenue since its re-release to $2,21,156.

RRR, which impressed viewers in the West when it was recently published on Netflix, earned more than 1000 crore in international box office revenue during its theatrical run and was praised for its action sequences.

RRR, produced by DVV Entertainment, arrived on March 25 and earned $65 million in its first weekend worldwide. It opened in third place in the United States and second in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

The historical fiction story by Vijayendra Prasad and Rajamouli is set in the 1920s and follows the friendship of two Indian liberation warriors, Alluri Sitarama Raju (Ram Charan) and Komaram Bheem (NTR Jr). The colonial British occupiers are their shared foe. Bollywood A-listers Ajay Devgn and Alia Bhatt are also featured in the cast.

The origin of RRR can be traced back to a subject that Rajamouli finds extremely personal. Following a decades-long push for secession, Rajamouli's native state of Andhra Pradesh was divided into the states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh in 2014. Telugu is the common language spoken in both states, and they also have similar cuisine, cultures, and movie tastes.

“Everyone understood that the state would eventually separate, but there was resentment between the brothers; both are Telugu people, but Andhra is distinct from Telangana — and I found that to be tragic,” Rajamouli told Variety.

“So that was another thing that was going through my head: if I could make a tale about them cooperating rather than fighting. I believe that Alluri Sitarama Raju is from the Andhra region and Komaram Bheem is from Telangana. It is my method of expressing that we are one and are not separate if I can bring those two heroes together,” added Rajamouli.

Prem Rakshith's choreography for the Naatu Naatu dance routine, in which the two leads match frenzied steps in perfect time, is one of the talking points of RRR.

The song was filmed in Kyiv, where the Russian invasion has turned into a battlefield. With words of support, Rajamouli keeps in touch with a number of the crew members he worked with in Ukraine.

His movies have helped the Telugu industry flourish both inside and outside of India. Rajamouli considers it crucial because, as a storyteller, his greatest desire is to have as many people as possible listen to his story. While it has been demonstrated before Baahubali that all languages have worth, if the movie is based on human emotions, it may transcend all linguistic barriers. It is the implementation of a theory in practice.

Rajamouli thinks in Telugu. However, even before he starts filming, he sends the script to other language writers so they may also learn about the story.

“They study the script, and if they find any dialogue that enhances my tale or the plot of the movie, I modify the Telugu translation. These dialogues might not be the final ones I use in the movie,” Rajamouli said in an interview.

On the other hand, Jr NTR asserted that RRR should have a sequel along the lines of the director's successful Baahubali franchise.

The Hindi version of the movie brought in nearly Rs 200 crore at the box office, and industry observers praised the production team for significantly recovering the post-pandemic box office.