Khaleja beat Indra to become highest-grossing re-release in USA

In what can only be described as a phenomenal feat, Superstar Mahesh Babu’s Khaleja has stormed the North American box office to become the highest-grossing Indian re-release ever in the United States. The cult classic, originally released in 2010, has struck gold with its 4K remastered version, beating long-standing records held by Chiranjeevi’s Indra and Pawan Kalyan’s Gabbar Singh. Khaleja directed by Trivikram Srinivas also starred Anushka Shetty and Prakash Raj in leading roles.On its opening day, Khaleja 4K grossed an impressive $57,677 from 105 locations across North America, making it the third-highest opening for an Indian film re-release in the region, just behind Indra ($65K) and Gabbar Singh ($60K). However, what followed on Day 2 was nothing short of sensational. By 9 PM PST, the film had already collected $35,829 from 91 locations, a figure that surpassed many other re-release opening day numbers.The remarkable Day 2 performance has ensured that Khaleja would comfortably cross the coveted $100K mark by Sunday. .This unexpected yet heartwarming box office resurgence reaffirms Mahesh Babu’s enduring popularity overseas, especially among the Telugu diaspora. The film’s witty dialogues, Mahesh’s charismatic performance, Trivikram Srinivas’ sharp writing, and the nostalgia factor have all contributed to drawing crowds back to cinemas, even 14 years after its original release.

In India as well the film has taken an amazing start where just its advance booking for day 1 of Rs 3.5 crore has made it the highest grossing Telugu re-release beating Prabhas’ Salaar Part 1- Ceasefire. Mahesh Babu is currently working on his magnum opus film with SS Rajamouli which is supposed to go on floors this year. The film also stars Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Prithviraj Sukukaran and is considered to be one of the biggest projects out of India. It is Rajamouli’s first film since the global success of RRR with Ram Charan and NTR Jr.