HYDERABAD — After facing a string of poor audience receptions with his recent releases, Mega Prince Varun Tej has made a promising comeback with his latest horror-comedy, Korean Kanakaraju. Released in theaters on August 7, the film has delivered Varun Tej’s career-best opening performance, surpassing his previous benchmark set by Gaddalakonda Ganesh.
Driven by positive word-of-mouth and high engagement across ticket platforms—with over 2.5 lakh tickets sold on BookMyShow and District App—the film is positioned for a strong weekend run, further boosted by the upcoming Bonalu holiday on Monday.
USA & Overseas Box Office Performance
USA Box Office: The film grossed $175K in the United States across its premieres and Day 1 run.
Global Footprint: Overseas markets generated a total gross of Rs 2 crore, bringing the initial international collections to a stable trajectory relative to its theatrical rights value.
India Box Office Breakdown
According to official updates and trade reports:
Day 1 Collections: The film recorded an opening day net collection of Rs 3.95 crore in India across 1,656 shows, translating to an India gross collection of Rs 4.50 crore.
Makers’ Cumulative Total: The production team reported a total opening-day gross of over Rs 10.2 crore (inclusive of worldwide Premieres + Day 1).
Regional Distribution:
Andhra Pradesh & Telangana: Led the domestic market by contributing Rs 4 crore to the opening-day gross.
Karnataka: Contributed Rs 43 lakh.
Tamil Nadu & Rest of India: Added Rs 5 lakh and Rs 2 lakh respectively.
Theater Occupancy: The Telugu 2D version saw an overall domestic occupancy of 41% on Friday. Theater attendance peaked during night shows at 57.42%, following morning (27.83%), afternoon (38.25%), and evening (38.33%) turnouts.
About the Film
Directed by Merlapaka Gandhi and jointly produced by First Frame Entertainments and UV Creations, Korean Kanakaraju blends horror-comedy with Rayalaseema regional culture and a unique Korean spirit possession storyline. The film features Varun Tej alongside Ritika Nayak as the female lead and comedian Satya in a key role.
