Exclusive/ HanuMan box office prediction day 1: Ram Mandir ceremony, word-of-mouth to boost film's earnings

HanuMan, a small film starring Teja Sajja, which received rave reviews upon its teaser release will now be clashing with Mahesh Babu starrer Guntur Kaaram on January 12, relatively a bigger film starring a superstar. While the clash seems unfair, it is being said that HanuMan has the potential to get a better response depending on word-of-mouth, especially after the amazing reviews it has been receiving from trade experts after its special screening on January 11.

While Mahesh Babu's film with Trivikram is majorly aiming at the Telugu-speaking audience, HanuMan making use of the Ayodhya Temple trend is trying for a pan-India release, which means it will hit theaters in multiple languages including Telugu, Hindi, Kannada, Tamil and Malayalam. In this article, we will anticipate how much the film will earn at the box office on its opening day as well as the weekend despite having tough competition and a lower screen count with opinions from trade experts.

How much will HanuMan earn on its opening day?

According to experts, unlike Guntur Kaaram, HanuMan is made on a moderately low budget, approximately ₹30 crores including print and advertisement.

Film Trade Analyst Sumit Kadel said, "The actual cost of production of the film was approximately ₹12 crores. But after the film got a good reception for its teaser which was released last year, they spent an extra ₹10 to ₹12 crores on polishing the VFX and improving the overall quality of the film."

He added, "So they went approximately ₹10 crore over budget for the film but it's not a huge budget film like the A-lister star cast films made in Telugu cinema."

However, Sumit noted that despite it not getting enough shows in big cities of Telugu-speaking states, the film's advanced bookings are going quite well in the local market, including big cities in Andhra Pradesh.

Sumit further said, "It (Hanutan) will have a decent opening of approximately ₹8 to ₹10 crores across India. I'm talking about gross collection. And in the Hindi market also, it can do quite well if it gets a good amount of shows. I am assuming the film will open to approximately ₹1 to ₹2 crore in Hindi land which will be a great result."

Sumit also noted that given the current sentiments of the country with Ayodhya's Ram Mandir ceremony on January 22, the film has the potential of doing good business if met with a good response upon its release.

Film Industry Tracker Manobala Vijayabalan revealed that the Prasanth Varma directorial film's occupancy for advance booking is good but the Teja Sajja starrer hasn't been given enough screens.

He said, "It is expected to take less than ₹20 crore opening on Day 1. If the movie gets positive word of mouth it will survive else the road ahead will be difficult."

HanuMan's religious angle has created a buzz in India, says Ramesh Bala

Another Film Trade Analyst, Ramesh Bala, noted that the film has created quite a buzz in both South and North markers due to its combination of having a superhero element and religious angle.

Ramesh too believes that though the Teja Sajja starrer is relatively a small film, it will gain some traction as it coincides with the Ayodhya Ram Mandir inauguration.

He said, "Even though Teja Sajja is a relatively smaller star, HanuMan will get some help because it coincides with the Ayodhya Ram Mandir inauguration event which is in the news these days."

However, Ramesh thinks that the film will not gather enough traction in the Hindi belt, despite being released in the language. The film will also witness a clash with other Telugu films starring the OGs Nagarjuna in Naa Saami Ranga and Venkatesh Daggubati in Saindhav.