More shows, 500% higher earnings: How Chiranjeevi’s Mana Shankara Varaprasad Garu beat The Raja Saab at box office

Superstar Chiranjeevi marked his comeback in his retro avatar with his latest release, Mana Shankara Varaprasad Garu. As the film is about to complete its first week run at the box office, let's look at its overall collection so far. Helmed by Anil Ravipudi, the film is majorly clashing with the pan-India star Prabhas' The Raja Saab.

Mana Shankara Varaprasad Garu box office collection day 6

According to the industry tracker, Mana Shankara Varaprasad Garu minted ₹18.50 crore net on day 6 in India. Although the film witnessed a dip in collections on Saturday, it has fared better than The Raja Saab. On the same day, Prabhas' horror-comedy raked in ₹3 crore, although it was day 9 for the film.

If we consider the earnings of both the Telugu films in their first six days only, Mana Shankara Varaprasad Garu outshines The Raja Saab.

Mana Shankara Varaprasad Garu vs The Raja Saab

Chiranjeevi’s Mana ShankaraVaraprasad Garu maintained a strong grip at the box office despite receiving mixed reviews. The film collected ₹139.85 crore net in six days domestically. The film showed some minor dips through the weekdays, but collections stabilised in the ₹18–22 crore range from Tuesday onwards. On Wednesday, the film raked in ₹19.5 crore net, while Thursday brought ₹22 crore net, thanks to the Pongal boost. Friday saw a slight dip with ₹19.5 crore net earnings, which continued till Saturday. Despite minor fluctuations, the film had a consistent weekday performance.

In comparison, Prabhas’ The Raja Saab witnessed a sharp drop after its bumper opening day of ₹53.75 crore net. The film amassed around ₹124.75 crore in its first six days across all languages. While the film started big, its collections saw a steep decline on its first weekend, with Saturday at ₹26 crore net and Sunday at ₹19.1 crore net. From Monday onward, the film's daily earnings slipped into single digits. While Monday collected ₹6.6 crore net, Tuesday brought in ₹4.8 crore net. On Wednesday, the film witnessed some relief on Pongal with an earning of ₹5.35 crore net.

Mana ShankaraVaraprasad Garu not only performed better in overall first-week earnings but also had a stronger momentum and better hold at the box office compared to The Raja Saab.

Film trade analyst Taran Adarsh posted on X: “CHIRANJEEVI - ANIL RAVIPUDI FILM HITS THE BULL'S EYE... Despite multiple releases during the #Sankranti festive period in the #Telugu states, #ManaShankaraVaraPrasadGaru – which teams the legendary #Chiranjeevi and hit-machine director #AnilRavipudi – has emerged as a major success.”

Mana Shankara Varaprasad Garu brings more footfall

On day 6, Mana Shankara Varaprasad Garu dominated theatres with a stronger overall (Telugu) occupancy of 61.07%. The film witnessed a steady momentum, starting from 40.17% in morning shows to 72.15% during the evening, before 69.58% at night. On the other hand, The Raja Saab recorded an overall occupancy of about 32.52% among the Telugu audience on the same day.

Mana Shankara Varaprasad Garu shows replace The Raja Saab

The dominance was also seen in terms of show count across India. Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu enjoyed a wider presence, especially in major Telugu markets. Hyderabad alone had 555 shows, compared to just 163 shows for The Raja Saab. Similarly, Bengaluru saw 435 shows for Mana while 68 shows for Raja Saab. Cities like Vijayawada (121 shows for Mana vs 39 shows for The Raja Saab) and Vizag (136 shows for Mana vs 62 39 shows for The Raja Saab) further confirmed the gap.