Ustaad Bhagat Singh is turning out to be a surprising case in the overseas market, especially in the USA, where Pawan Kalyan has always delivered strong openings.
Pawan Kalyan’s USA Track Record
Pawan Kalyan is one of the few stars who consistently pulls solid premiere numbers in North America, irrespective of the film’s genre or talk. Over the years, even films with average or weak buzz have managed to open well purely on his stardom.
Interestingly, films like Hari Hara Veera Mallu, which faced multiple delays, and remakes like Bro (The Avatar), Katamarayudu, and Bheemla Nayak still managed to post better-than-expected premieres in the USA.
Even films like Sardaar Gabbar Singh and Agnyathavaasi, which ended up as disasters, had opened to record premiere numbers.
Ustaad Bhagat Singh USA Premieres Underperform
However, Ustaad Bhagat Singh is now set to record the lowest premiere numbers for a Pawan Kalyan film in the last decade, which has come as a shock to many.
Despite the promotional content not working as expected, Pawan Kalyan’s stardom usually guarantees at least a $750K+ start in the USA. But as per current trends, the film is likely to open in the $500K range, which is significantly lower than expected.
In this decade, only Vakeel Saab had lower numbers, but that was during the COVID period with very limited release conditions.
Pawan Kalyan USA Premieres Comparison (Last Decade)
- Ustaad Bhagat Singh – ~$500K (Estimates)
- OG – $3.14M
- Hari Hara Veera Mallu – $800K
- Bro: The Avatar – $650K
- Bheemla Nayak – $875K
- Vakeel Saab – $296K (COVID period, limited release)
- Agnyathavaasi – $1.5M
- Katamarayudu – $706K
- Sardaar Gabbar Singh – $615K
These numbers clearly show how Ustaad Bhagat Singh is underperforming in premieres compared to Pawan Kalyan’s usual standards in the USA market. Despite the shooting beginning with high expectations and multiple updates during production, the film’s advance bookings have failed to generate the typical enthusiasm associated with the star’s releases.