Waltair Veerayya vs Veera Simha Reddy box office collection Day 4: Chiranjeevi's movie earns big in US, Balakrishna-starrer fizzles

Putting to rest all debates, Chiranjeevi's Waltair Veerayya emerges as the biggest overseas earneer among the four mega releases of this Pongal/Sankranthi season. Despite releasing 48 hours after Varisu and Thunivu and 24 hours after Veera Simha Reddy, Waltair Veerayya earned much more in the lucrative US market. 

By latest estimates, Chiranjeevi's "mass masala entertainer" is a whisker away from the coveted $2 million-mark in North America while Balakrishna's Veera Simha Reddy barely managed to cross the $1 million-mark. Ajith's Thunivu and Vijay's Varisu also crossed the $1-million mark.

Waltair Veerayya's worldwide gross is Rs 108 crore in three days, said trade reports and is running to housefulls in the Telugu states even on a weekday like Monday. 

The movie got a fillip from Ravi Teja's presence in the second half and Devi Sri Prasad's foot tapping numbers, said trade analysts. Not to forget, Chiranjeevi got to unleash his mass avatar that his fans have been craving for ever since re-entry into movies after a failed foray into politics. His fans have been ecstatic that the "mega star" is at his unhinged best, the way they always idolised him since the 90s. Many tweets suggested the movie, directed by Bobby Kolli, harkens back to the days Chiranjeevi delivered mass hits like Mutha Mestri, Gang Leader, Rowdy Alludu, Gharana Mogudu. 

Despite Balakrishna's previous release Akhanda being a roaring success, his latest movie Veera Simha Reddy looks like something made exclusively for his fans with lot of high-voltage dialogues and gravity-defying fights but low on content. Twitter users said director Gopichandh Malineni was only half-successful in showing Balakrishna in full form because of a script that is low on substance and high on style. 

Prior to its release, it appeared that Balakrishna’s Veera Simha Reddy would be the Sankranthi winner in the mega Balakrishna-Chiranjeevi clash that was seen after many years, whereas Waltair Veerayya had low expectations. However, gratuitous violence and the patchy second half worked against Veera Simha Reddy, while Chiranjeevi’s vintage style of acting and Ravi Teja’s episode worked well for Waltair Veerayya. 

Interestingly, both movies have the same producer-- Mythri Movie Makers.