The Raja Saab box office run went from a huge Sankranti opening to a steep fall within days, while Chiranjeevi quietly won the holiday. Here are three big lessons from South cinema’s busiest weekend of 2026.
The Raja Saab box office story is one of a big start and a fast fall. Prabhas’s horror-comedy collected about ₹108 crore in India over its opening weekend, according to Sacnilk figures, then dropped sharply on weekdays after poor reviews and finished as a box office failure.
The real Sankranti 2026 winner was Chiranjeevi’s Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu, while Vijay’s Jana Nayagan never made its 9 January date at all. Here is how the weekend played out, and what it says about Prabhas’s pull.
The Raja Saab box office at a glance
The Raja Saab box office at a glance- Release date: 9 January 2026, worldwide, for Sankranti
- Director: Maruthi
- Cast: Prabhas, Sanjay Dutt, Malavika Mohanan, Nidhhi Agerwal and Boman Irani
- Producers: People Media Factory and IVY Entertainment
- Music: Thaman S
- Opening day: ₹100.9 crore worldwide
- Final worldwide gross: ₹208.38 crore
- Streaming: JioHotstar from 6 February 2026
Sankranti 2026: the films in the race
Four big South releases were lined up for the Sankranti and Pongal week, one of the most lucrative holiday windows in Indian cinema.
- The Raja Saab: Prabhas in a Telugu fantasy horror-comedy, released on 9 January
- Parasakthi: Sivakarthikeyan in Sudha Kongara’s Tamil period drama, released on 10 January
- Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu: Chiranjeevi, Venkatesh and Nayanthara in Anil Ravipudi’s family entertainer, released on 12 January
- Jana Nayagan: Vijay’s action film, due on 9 January but postponed
1. The Raja Saab box office proves star power still opens a film
Nobody can fault the start. Paid previews the night before release brought in ₹9.15 crore, and the first day delivered ₹53.75 crore in India and ₹100.9 crore worldwide, according to the film’s Wikipedia entry.
Sacnilk figures reported by The Hollywood Reporter India put the opening weekend at ₹108 crore across India, and Wikipedia records about ₹170 crore worldwide. Those are numbers most stars only dream of, and The Raja Saab box office earned them on Prabhas’s name alone.
The film also had reach. It opened in Telugu with dubbed versions in Hindi, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam, and Malavika Mohanan made her Telugu debut alongside Prabhas, who plays a dual role.
2. Reviews decide The Raja Saab box office in week two
Then came the weekdays. The Raja Saab box office take fell to just over ₹6 crore on Monday and just over ₹4 crore on Tuesday, leaving its India total at nearly ₹120 crore after five days.
Critics were harsh. Ratings mostly sat between 1 and 2 out of 5, with complaints about the screenplay and the long runtime, and NDTV called it “a royal mess”. India Today allowed Prabhas his “sporadic comic timing”, but little else escaped criticism.
The film had a long road to cinemas. It was first dated for 10 April 2025, then 5 December 2025, and its post-production included nearly 300 days of visual effects work. The Raja Saab box office closed at ₹208.38 crore worldwide, and the film is recorded as a failure.
3. Family entertainers own Sankranti
While The Raja Saab box office slid, Chiranjeevi climbed. Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu made ₹9 crore net from paid previews and over ₹32 crore across India on its first day, per Sacnilk, and crossed ₹100 crore worldwide within days.
It kept going. Wikipedia estimates its final worldwide gross at ₹300 to 310 crore over a 50-day run, making it the second-highest-grossing Telugu film of 2026 and handing Chiranjeevi the second-best opening of his career after Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy.
Reviews were only mixed, but that hardly mattered. A festive, all-ages comedy with Chiranjeevi, Venkatesh and Nayanthara is exactly what Sankranti audiences in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana reward, and the film moved to ZEE5 on 11 February 2026.
Why Jana Nayagan missed Sankranti
Why Jana Nayagan missed SankrantiVijay’s Jana Nayagan, directed by H Vinoth and produced by Venkat K Narayana of KVN Productions, was due on 9 January. Gulf News reported that the CBFC referred the film to a new panel over its use of Indian Armed Forces symbols, and that the producer took the matter to the Madras High Court.
The delay hurt because Jana Nayagan was billed as Vijay’s last film before full-time politics with his party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam. Fans were offered re-releases of Master and Leo from 9 January instead.
The story had a happy ending. The film was eventually cleared with an A certificate and opened worldwide, including India, on 23 July 2026.
Parasakthi and the Tamil side of the clash
Sudha Kongara’s Parasakthi, starring Sivakarthikeyan, Ravi Mohan, Atharvaa and Sreeleela, moved its release forward four days to 10 January, setting up a direct clash with Vijay. When Jana Nayagan pulled out, it had the Tamil field largely to itself.
It still struggled. The film received its U/A certificate only a day before release, after 25 cuts and modifications, and earned an estimated ₹84 to 100 crore worldwide against a much larger budget.
Where to watch The Raja Saab
The Raja Saab box office run is over, and the film now streams on JioHotstar, which paid a reported ₹160 crore for the digital rights. The Telugu version and its Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam dubs arrived on 6 February 2026, and the Hindi dub followed on 6 March.
Availability outside India has not been confirmed, so viewers in the UAE should search for the film in their streaming apps. Fans who stay through the credits will spot the announcement of a sequel, RajaSaab 2: Circus 1935.
The Raja Saab box office FAQs
How much did The Raja Saab collect on its opening weekend?
About ₹108 crore in India, according to Sacnilk figures, and around ₹170 crore worldwide.
Is The Raja Saab a hit or a flop?
It opened big but dropped sharply after poor reviews. The Raja Saab box office total of ₹208.38 crore worldwide is recorded as a failure.
Which film won Sankranti 2026?
Chiranjeevi’s Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu, with an estimated ₹300 to 310 crore worldwide.
Read Prabhas on The Raja Saab co-star Malavika Mohanan and our look at the South films dominating 2026, and find more in our South Cinema section.