By hindustanheraldin@gmail.com 
Hyderabad, September 26: The numbers are in, and the Telugu box office has found its newest talking point. Allu Arjun’s Pushpa 2: The Rule stormed into theatres with figures that have trade circles buzzing, while Jr NTR’s Devara: Part 1 opened big but could not quite keep pace. In a year when Tollywood has already sent shockwaves across the country, the rivalry between these two films has sharpened the question: who really commands the biggest opening in Indian cinema today?
Pushpa 2 Comes Out Swinging
Trade analyst Manobala Vijayabalan pegged Pushpa 2’s Day 1 India net at ₹165 crore, with another ₹10.1 crore from Telugu previews. Add it all up, and you are looking at ₹175.1 crore on home turf. Globally, the figure is estimated at a staggering ₹282.91 crore, according to Financial Express.
That is not far off from the earlier Hindustan Times report that claimed Pushpa 2 had touched ₹294 crore worldwide on its opening day. The takeaway is the same: this is one of the biggest launches Indian cinema has ever seen.
For Allu Arjun, the franchise has become more than just a commercial project. Pushpa has turned into a cultural brand, the kind of film that fuels memes, mass celebrations and feverish repeat viewings. The second installment was always expected to explode out of the gates, and it has done exactly that.
Devara Holds Strong, But Trails
On the other side, Jr NTR’s Devara: Part 1 managed an impressive start of its own. Hindustan Times reported a Day 1 worldwide collection of around ₹172 crore. Any other Friday, that would have been the headline story. A thunderous opening by one of Telugu cinema’s biggest stars.
But when you are standing next to Pushpa 2, those numbers tell a different story. Devara, directed by Koratala Siva with Janhvi Kapoor making her Telugu debut, had been billed as Jr NTR’s first big outing since the global phenomenon of RRR. It is a strong opener, yes, but in raw box-office terms, it has been overshadowed.
A Box Office Race That Is Turning Into A Pattern
This back and forth is no longer just about two films. The Telugu industry, year after year, is setting the tone for how “big” an Indian opening can be. Remember Pawan Kalyan’s OG earlier this month? That film pulled in about ₹90 crore on Day 1 in India, the best of his career. Not long ago, those numbers would have been unthinkable for anyone outside of Rajamouli’s orbit. Now, they are becoming the new normal.
The ₹150–300 crore worldwide opening bracket is practically a Telugu stronghold. Baahubali 2, RRR, Salaar, Kalki 2898 AD and now Pushpa 2. The pattern is impossible to ignore. It is Hyderabad, not Mumbai or Chennai, that sets the box-office bar these days.
What Is Really At Stake
Here is the truth. These opening day numbers are as much about perception as profit. Producers chase the bragging rights, fans treat them like a scoreboard, and distributors use them to gauge whether a film will hold over the weekend. In an era when budgets are ballooning past ₹500 crore, nobody can afford a soft start.
For Allu Arjun, Pushpa 2’s explosive entry strengthens his claim as Tollywood’s most bankable star on the pan-India stage. For Jr NTR, Devara’s numbers show he remains a force, but also that he is competing in a climate where expectations have shifted dramatically after RRR.
And that is the real story here. These are not just big movies making big money. They are part of a tug of war over who leads Telugu cinema’s global charge. The rivalry is good for the industry, but it also raises the stakes for what comes next.
The first day race may be over, but the bigger test, whether these films sustain beyond the opening weekend, is only just beginning.
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Ayesha Khan