Tamil film Dude started off well yesterday, collecting Rs. 11.25-11.50 crore approx at the Indian box office. This marks the career best first day collections for Pradeep Ranganathan, surpassing his previous best of Rs. 8 crore by Dragon earlier this year. Overseas, the film has grossed Rs. 5-5.50 crore, including previews, giving it a worldwide opening day of Rs. 16.50-17 crore approx.
The opening in Tamil Nadu is largely similar to Dragon, albeit about 15 per cent higher, at around Rs. 6.25 crore approx. Karnataka is about the same. The leap has come from the Telugu states, where Dude collected Rs. 3.75 crore against Rs. 1.25 crore of Dragon. Kerala is also significantly better than Dragon.
The real value of this opening is probably even better, as there is some pre-Diwali effect in play. That will be the case over the weekend as well, but things shall improve Monday onwards on Diwali day. Generally, the Diwali boost remains for a couple of days, so the film will benefit from it during the weekdays.
The previous two films by Pradeep, Love Today and Dragon, sustained very strongly, emerging as SUPER HITs. Love Today grossed Rs. 60 crore in Tamil Nadu from less than Rs. 3 crore first day, while Dragon went on to collect over Rs. 75 crore from Rs. 5.50 crore. Dude has a better starting point than those two; it needs to be seen what it makes of it.
The Territorial Breakdown for the First Day Box Office Collections of Dude in India is as follows:
| Area | Gross |
|---|---|
| Tamil Nadu | Rs. 6.25 cr. |
| Karnataka | Rs. 0.85 cr. |
| APTS | Rs. 3.65 cr. |
| Kerala | Rs. 0.50 cr. |
| Rest of India | Rs. 0.10 cr. |
| INDIA | Rs. 11.35 cr. |
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