‘RRR’ Star NTR Jr’s ‘Devara’ Scores $3.5 Million in Pre-Sales (EXCLUSIVE)
“Devara Part 1,” the next film from Indian star NTR Jr after the Golden Globe and Oscar-winning “RRR,” has earned $3.5 million in worldwide ticket pre-sales, the producers have revealed.
The film is produced by Kosaraju Hari Krishna and Sudhakar Mikkilineni under the banners NTR Arts (“Bimbisara”) and Yuvasudha Arts respectively and is presented by Nandamuri Kalyan Ram.
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The Thursday world premiere at Hollywood’s Egyptian Theatre sold out its 516 seats in nine minutes, the producers said. Apart from the U.S., where the film has earned $2.5 million in ticket pre-sales for its Sept. 27 release, it has already amassed AUD$300,000 ($206,700) in Australia and sold 24,000 tickets in the U.K. for Day 1 shows.
The action saga set in India’s coast lands, reunites NTR Jr with his “Janatha Garage” director Koratala Siva, whose last film was “Acharya,” starring megastar Chiranjeevi and “RRR” star Ram Charan. NTR Jr plays the fearless Devara, a man who navigates the perilous waters of treachery and betrayal to protect his people. The film also stars Janhvi Kapoor (“Ulajh”) and Saif Ali Khan (“Vikram Vedha”) in pivotal roles.
Indian trade analyst Taran Adarsh said: “The international anticipation for ‘Devara: Part 1’ is unprecedented. Going from man of masses to master of millions, NTR Jr isn’t just opening doors for Indian cinema, he is rewriting its rulebook on the global stage. This level of cross-cultural appeal for an Indian film is ushering in a new era where pan-India stars have the power to dominate worldwide box office charts.”
The cast also includes Prakash Raj, Srikanth Meka, Tom Shine Chacko and Narain. The film features music by Anirudh Ravichander (“Leo”), cinematography by R. Rathnavelu (“Sarileru Neekevvaru”), production design by Sabu Cyril (“RRR”) and editing by A. Sreekar Prasad (“RRR”).
The film will be released in two parts worldwide in the Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Kannada and Malayalam languages. Prathyangira Cinemas is distributing in the U.S. and DreamZ Entertainment in the U.K. Tolly Movies is releasing across Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Papua New Guinea across 1,168 screens, one of the widest ever releases for an Indian film.
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