From Baahubali to Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo! Top 7 Highest Grossing Telugu Films in the United States

The mighty Sankranthi clash between Mahesh Babu’s Sarileru Neekevvaru and Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo is just cooling down after two weeks of rampage at the global box-office. While both the commercial entertainers have grossed over Rs 200 crore at the worldwide ticket counters, Allu Arjun’s film is slightly a step ahead in terms of shattering records. The Trivikram Srinivas directorial emerged as the 8th south Indian film to cross $3 million in the United States.

While Rs 50 crore and Rs 100 crore clubs are the yardsticks for the box-office performance of a film in the domestic circuit, $1 million dollars or more is considered to be a success in the United States. A lead actor, actress or director with a couple of million-dollar flicks in their kitty are said to have joined the big leagues of Tollywood. Also, it’s no longer about how many weeks or months a film runs. It’s about how much a film can collect during the initial few days banking on the fanatical following. Scroll down for the top 7 highest-grossing Telugu films in the US.

Released as a sequel to 2015 blockbuster ‘Baahubali: The Beginning’, the SS Rajamouli directorial registered a phenomenal success at the global box-office by shattering over Rs 1800 crore in all versions. Beating all the existent records both on the home turf and abroad, ‘Baahubali 2: The Conclusion’ had collected a total gross of approx. $21 million at the American box-office. Starring Prabhas, Rana Dagubati and Anushka Shetty in lead roles, the epic warfare featured an ensemble star cast like Tamannaah Bhatia, Ramya Krishnan, Sathyaraj and Nasser.

Helmed on a monstrous budget of close to Rs 400 crore, the two-part Baahubali accumulated a worldwide gross of over Rs 1800 crore. Without stopping with that, the magnum opus released to a fantastic ovation in countries like Japan where the film characters went on to create quite an impact among the local audience. Besides creating history in the Telugu states, the first part ‘Baahubali: The Beginning’ has smashed all the records in the United States by crossing the $8 million mark. Recently, it became the first non-English film to be played at the renowned Royal Albert Hall (London) ever since its inauguration 148 years ago.

Besides creating a sensation in the Telugu states, Sukumar’s Rangasthalam has recorded some incredible numbers in the overseas market too. Set against the hinterlands of Andhra Pradesh, the rustic revenge-drama had a compelling script, engaging screenplay, strong characterisations, foot-tapping songs, rich production values and terrific performances from the entire star cast. Portraying a platter of emotions convincingly, Ram Charan was wonderful as ‘sound engineer’ Chitti Babu and has completely submitted to the traits of the all-encompassing countryside. Rangasthalam has collected $3.5 million in the US.

After tasting back-to-back failures with Brahmotsavam and Spyder, Mahesh Babu was under the pressure of delivering a sure-shot blockbuster with ‘Bharat Ane Nenu’ and he eventually succeeded. Released in 2018, the political thriller managed to hit the bull’s eye with both the masses and class audience. Helmed by Koratala Siva after his hat-trick of super hits, Bharat Ane Nenu managed to earn approx. $3.4 Million at the American ticket counters. The film also marked the Telugu debut of Bollywood actress Kiara Advani.

Despite facing stiff competition from Darbar and Sarileru Neekevvaru, Allu Arjun’s latest outing Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo has struck gold at the global box-office. Besides bagging glowing praises from critics, the family entertainer has received positive responses from the audience in both the Telugu states and abroad. Going by the figures, the Trivikram Srinivas directorial has marginally outperformed Anil Ravipudi’s film. Besides grossing a worldwide total of Rs 220 crore in less than two weeks, Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo emerged as the 8th south Indian film to cross $3 million in the United States.

Post the global reach of Baahubali franchise, Prabhas is no longer a South Indian actor as his popularity has transcended boundaries. The massive success of Saaho in the Hindi belt is the testimony to the universal stardom of this 40-year-old actor. Despite bagging negative reviews from critics, viewers thronged into the theaters to catch a glimpse of this visual extravaganza. After enjoying an earth-shattering start at the global box-office, the Sujeeth directorial grossed over Rs 400 crore. In United States, the Shraddha Kapoor starrer earned over $3 million.

Overseas box-office has always been a strong forte for Mahesh Babu and the performance of his 2015 blockbuster ‘Srimanthudu’ is no exception. After the back-to-back failures of ‘1: Nenokkadine’ and ‘Aagadu’, the Koratala Siva directorial has reassured that the 44-year-old’s position as one of the top crowd-pullers in the country. With US folks also embracing the picture big time, the social-action drama has clocked in over approx. $2.8 million during its full run.