Chandoo Mondeti’s latest directorial Thandel, starring Naga Chaitanya and Sai Pallavi, registered a strong opening at the box office, raking in Rs 21.27 crore gross worldwide on Day 1, the makers said on Saturday.
Released in theatres this Friday, the film marks Chaitanya’s career-best box office opening.
“#BlockbusterThandel collects 21.27 CRORE GROSS WORLDWIDE on Day 1 with terrific response and word of mouth all over. A super strong Day 2 on cards,” the official handle of the film posted on X.
According to industry data-tracking portal Sacnilk, Thandel collected Rs 10 crore nett in India, with the Telugu version contributing Rs 9.8 crore nett to the earnings. The Tamil version minted Rs 0.05 crore nett while the Hindi version contributed Rs 0.15 crore nett.
The Telugu version of Thandel saw an impressive overall occupancy rate of 53.58 per cent across the country, peaking at 71.10 per cent during night shows, Sacnilk reported.
Presented by Allu Aravind and produced by Bunny Vas under the banner of Geetha Arts, Thandel has emerged as Naga Chaitanya’s biggest film to date. Chaitanya’s previous releases saw significantly lower opening day collections — Custody earned Rs 3.2 crore nett in India, while Love Story managed to collect Rs 6.9 crore nett.
Inspired by real-life events, Thandel tells the story of fishermen from Andhra Pradesh who were imprisoned in Pakistan after accidentally crossing international waters in 2018. Naga Chaitanya and Sai Pallavi reunite on screen for the first time after Love Story (2021) in Thandel. Prakash Belawadi plays a Pakistani jailer in the film.
