For a few years, the sequels have been working very well at the box office, which made the distributors have a lot of confidence in Akhanda 2, which marks the fourth film in the combination of Boyapati Sreenu and Balakrishna.
Even the industry and people were shocked to see Akhanda 2’s business prices, as Balakrishna is yet to score a 100 Cr share film, but the film’s Telugu theatrical rights were sold for more than 120 Cr, which is a 50% higher business than his films.
However, the massive craze or hype that the makers anticipated did not materialize among the audiences. They did not get hyped for the sequel to Akhanda as the most anticipated or biggest film, but they considered it a normal film of the Balakrishna and Boyapati combination.
Akhanda 2 Hype: Producers and Distributors’ Expectations do not match
Public excitement for Akhanda 2 was present, but it wasn’t as strong as distributors had hoped, as seen in the overseas bookings. USA premieres were expected to surpass $1M, but the total of the bookings fell short of Balakrishna’s career best. In Andhra Pradesh, ticket sales were decent, but not enough to justify the high prices.
Due to this situation, distributors haven’t paid the makers in full, adding financial strain. With the movie postponed and a new release date pending, distributors are attempting to renegotiate business ratios. This film is poised to arrive later, and we must await the final release date and business terms.
On one hand, distributors feel relieved, having realized they overpaid for the film. They now have justification to renegotiate ratios due to the postponement, even requesting refunds from producers and stating they will pay based on the future release date.