'Devara: Part 1' advance booking day 1: Jr NTR's post-RRR comeback crosses $2.5 mn in North America, eyes stellar opening biz

Devara: Part 1, the epic saga which marks Telugu superstar Jr NTR's comeback after the blockbuster RRR, has recorded robust pre-sales ahead of its September 27 theatrical release. The Red Sea turned into a full-blown tsunami as the epic action saga made over $2.5 million in premiers pre-sales from North America, according to Prathyangira Cinemas.

Prathyangira Cinemas said in a post on X: "North America can't contain the fury of Devara & The Red Sea is turning into a full blown tsunami. $2.5 MILLION+ Premieres Pre sales and the heat is rising (sic)!"

Back home, the film recorded advance bookings worth around Rs 43 crore in India as of Thursday morning. Jr NTR's upcoming film sold 10.74 lakh tickets worth Rs 27.52 crore excluding block seats.

Of these, the film's Telugu version sold 10.19 lakh tickets worth Rs 26.49 crore whereas its Hindi version sold over 41,000 tickets worth Rs 69.95 lakh. Its Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada versions sold 6.76 lakh tickets, 1.23 lakh tickets and 1.93 lakh tickets, respectively.

Devara: Part 1's Telugu IMAX 2D shows sold 3,498 tickets worth Rs 21.35 lakh whereas its Hindi IMAX 2D shows sold 290 tickets worth Rs 1.45 lakh tickets respectively.

The film's advance bookings in India stood at Rs 42.63 crore including block seats. Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu are among the top contributors to Devara's stellar advance booking numbers, according to film trade portal Sacnilk. 

Given these numbers, Jr NTR's latest venture is likely to rake in robust numbers at the box office on its day 1. In another good news for Jr NTR and his diehard fans, the film will have a 50-day theatrical window, unlike the 4 weeks window which is currently the norm for most South Indian movie releases. 

The extended theatrical window will help the film in getting a proper release in Hindi markets, leading to further boost in the film's potential at the domestic box office. Whether Devara will cross the opening day numbers of the superstar's previous release RRR, however, remains to be seen. 

Produced by Yuvasudha Arts and NTR Arts, the film features Jr NTR in dual roles. It also marks the debut of Janhvi Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan in the Telugu industry. The film also features Prakash Raj, Shruti Marathe, Shine Tom Chacko, Srikanth, Kalaiyarasan and Murali Sharma in signifcant roles.