Netflix Shatters Virupaksha 100 Crore Dreams

Sai Dharam Teja's Virupaksha which was released on April 21 opened with super positive talk right from its premiers and early shows. The same word of mouth is reflected from common audience at the end of first day an first weekend. The film also got glowing reviews which is a rarity these days. The film has covered it's break even status of Rs 25 Crores in its first three days and entered into profit zone right from its fourth day. 

Besides having a superhit content, Virupaksha also has enjoyed some advantages like summer holidays and almost no competition from new releases. These factors made Virupaksha the primary choice for movie goers to watch a film in theatres. The film cruised ahead becoming highest grosser in Sai Tej's career.  Virupaksha crosses Rs 50 Crores in its five days and Rs 75 Crores in its 10 days. At that time everyone thought that the film will  easily cross Rs 100 crore mark. 

But, the film is stuck at Rs 90 crores. The film's OTT release date is already announced as May 21 on Netflix which makes it impossible to join Rs 100 crore club. The film manages to reach 90+ Crs mark in its 25 days of theatrical run. Virupaksha collected a share of Rs 48 Crores which is almost double to its business of Rs 25 Crores. Still the film is running on Rs 20 Lakhs share daily and Rs 40 Lakhs during weekend.

Once the news is out that Virupaksha will be available in Netflix from 21st May, there is a dip in collections which restricted it from entering Rs 100 crore club and Rs 50 Crore share mark. Though the film is released in other languages, The Kerala Story has overshadowed it. Yes, the OTT deals are done before the film's release but there should be a clause that if the film is having a good Theatrical run, streaming must be pushed to a later date leaving enough room to finish film's theatrical run completely.