The film racked up nearly ₹135 crore worldwide in its first weekend, outpacing expectations despite uniformly poor critical reviews.
Nani’s newest release, The Paradise, pulled in close to ₹135 crore worldwide during its opening weekend, shattering the previous benchmark for a mid‑level Telugu star. The figure comes from trade tracker Track Tollywood, which flagged the film as the highest‑grossing debut for a Tier‑2 actor in recent memory.
And yet the buzz around the movie hasn’t been all applause. Critics across the board handed it a chorus of negative verdicts, calling the narrative thin and the pacing uneven. Still, the cash registers kept ringing, a reminder that audience loyalty can outweigh a bad press run.
Regional breakdown
Telangana emerged as the engine room, delivering the bulk of the earnings and keeping the film afloat despite the lukewarm response elsewhere. Karnataka surprised everyone, posting an opening weekend tally of roughly ₹10.5 crore – a number that puts the southern state within a whisker of the film’s break‑even point. In the Nizam circuit, the share hit ₹31.85 crore against a rights price of ₹35 crore, signalling a healthy start though still shy of full recovery.
Andhra Pradesh and the Ceeded region, by contrast, lagged behind their contractual benchmarks. Both territories are currently posting collections below the amounts they paid for distribution rights, meaning they’ll need a solid hold in the coming weekdays to avoid losses.
The pan‑Indian versions added another ₹10 crore to the total, hinting that the film’s appeal stretches beyond its core Telugu audience. That cross‑language pull could be the cushion the movie needs once the weekend rush fades.
Box‑office analysts point out that the strong footfall in the home market compensated for the softer performance in the surrounding states. The pattern mirrors Nani’s earlier hits, where his name alone can draw crowds regardless of the critical chatter.
Looking ahead, the real test will be the second weekend. If the film can sustain its momentum and convince skeptical viewers to give it a second chance, the ₹135 crore opening could translate into a long‑run profit story. If not, the early surge may prove to be a fleeting flash.
So far, the numbers speak louder than the reviews. Whether The Paradise can turn its opening thunder into a lasting box‑office storm remains to be seen, but for now Nani enjoys a record that even the harshest critics can’t deny.
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