Kannappa box office collection day 2: Mukesh Kumar Singh’s mythological epic Kannappa boasts of a stellar star cast. While it’s led by Vishnu Manchu, the film has a pan-India ensemble cast, ranging from Malayalam cinema’s Mohanlal, Hindi cinema’s Akshay Kumar, and Telugu cinema’s very own, Prabhas. However, the combined might of these powerhouses couldn’t help the film secure a consistent opening weekend.
After opening at Rs 9.35 crore on Friday, Manchu’s biggest opening yet, Kannappa dropped down to Rs 7 crore across all four languages at the domestic box office. While the native Telugu version scored the lion’s share of that figure, it was followed by the dubbed Hindi, Malayalam, and Tamil versions, respectively.
As per trade tracker Sacnilk, the domestic box office collection of Kannappa stands at Rs 16.35 crore. It’s rare for a pan-Indian film to register a dip in figures on the second day itself, that too on a weekend. Whether it’s able to bounce back on Sunday or not will determine its further trajectory at the domestic box office.
Prabhas and Mohanlal in Kannappa. (Photo: Vishnu Manchu/Instagram)
Ahead of the release, the makers issued a statement warning trolls against creating ‘intentional and destructive attacks’ on the film. The notice read, “The film has been created responsibly to engage with the public at large and we thereby respectfully request all critiques to watch the film first, appreciate its substance, understand the intent and then comment on it with responsibility, rather than succumbing to premeditated biases or vendetta-fuelled commentary.”
It added, “While we recognize that the right to freedom of speech and expression is sacrosanct and enshrined under Article 19 (1) (a) of the Constitution of India, it is also equally established, by judicial interpretations that intentional and destructive attack, whether physical or reputational, on a creative work is not protected speech but a form of actionable injury and we reserve our rights to take appropriate legal action in this regard.”
“Furthermore, it is pertinent to note that the Hon’ble Delhi High Court has granted protection to the personality and publicity rights of two key stakeholders and principal actors of Kannappa, namely, Dr. Mohan Babu and Mr. Vishnu Manchu, and any dilution or tarnishment of their persona, image or district attributes, including any form of unauthorized use of dissemination of content which misappropriates or defames them, whether for commercial, personal, or any other gains may invite consequences under the present direction from the Hon’ble Court as well as under applicable laws,” read the statement.
Watch interview with Kaalidhar Laapata actor Abhishek Bachchan:
The mythological epic narrates the story of Kannappa, a devotee of Lord Shiva. The film is produced by Manchu’s banners AVA Entertainment and 24 Frames Factory. Besides Vishnu Manchu in the titular role, Prabhas as Rudra, Akshay Kumar as Lord Shiva, and Kajal Aggarwal as Parvathi, the film also stars Preity Mukhundhan, Mohan Babu, R Sarathkumar, Arpit Ranka, Brahmanandam, Brahmaji, Siva Balaji, Kaushal Manda, Rahul Madhav, Devaraj, Mukesh Rishi, Raghu Babu and Madhoo.
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In the Hindi market, Kannappa is facing stiff competition from RS Prasanna’s coming-of-age sports comedy Sitaare Zameen Par, a spiritual sequel to Aamir Khan’s 2007 directorial debut Taare Zameen Par. The film, starring Aamir and Genelia D’Souza, among others, has crossed the Rs 100 crore mark in nine days. Its domestic box office collection stands at Rs 109.27 crore.
