'Kalki 2898 AD' shatters records with over 1M tickets sold!
What's the story
With the countdown ticking, Nag Ashwin's Kalki 2898 AD is set to smash records with its advanced ticket sales.
This pan-Indian tentpole film is drawing massive crowds, particularly in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, while also creating quite a stir in Hindi-speaking cities like Delhi and Mumbai.
Per Sacnilk, the film has already sold over 1.4M tickets, raking in ₹38cr.
Kalki is expected to achieve advanced sales in the ₹50cr range ahead of its Thursday release.
Expensive tickets
Ticket prices soar as Andhra Pradesh backs 'Kalki' massive budget
The Andhra Pradesh government has temporarily permitted ticket price hikes for Kalki, recognizing it as a "super high budget film" that needs support to recoup its costs—reportedly ₹600cr budget.
Currently, the most expensive tickets for the film on BookMyShow in Hyderabad are priced at ₹505 before taxes, while those in Mumbai and Delhi are priced at ₹2,000 and ₹1,800 respectively.
By contrast, tickets for Shah Rukh Khan's Pathaan sold for as much as ₹2,200 in some Delhi locations last year.
Advance booking
Impressive advance booking for 'Kalki 2898 AD'
The advanced booking for Kalki 2898 AD opened on Sunday and has already seen impressive sales.
In just two days, the film sold over half a million tickets, grossing ₹16.22cr.
The Telugu market is spearheading the business with over 2.7 lakh tickets sold across all versions combined.
Despite cheaper ticket prices, the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana regions alone have contributed to over ₹27cr in advance sales, say reports.
Box office projections
'Kalki 2898 AD' projected to join elite ₹200cr club
Sacnilk projects a domestic debut of around ₹120-140cr and an overseas debut of around ₹60cr for Kalki 2898 AD.
If these projections hold true, the sci-fi dystopian film could become only the third Indian film to record an opening day haul of over ₹200cr.
The other two films to achieve this feat were SS Rajamouli's RRR and Baahubali 2: The Conclusion; the latter stars Kalki actor Prabhas.
About the film
Meanwhile, know about 'Kalki' in a nutshell
Kalki, also featuring Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone, Kamal Haasan, and Disha Patani among others, will be available in multiple languages including Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam, Kannada, and Tamil.
The film is bankrolled by C Aswani Dutt of Vyjayanthi Movies.
Set in the year 2898 AD, Kalki depicts Kasi as the last surviving city under a totalitarian regime led by Supreme Yaskin.
The plot revolves around Kalki—a mysterious figure believed to be the tenth and final avatar of the Hindu deity Vishnu.