Naga Chaitanya’s upcoming film Thandel has made an impressive mark by achieving a ₹100 crore business, positioning it as a potential blockbuster. Directed by Chandoo Mondeti, Thandel is a high-budget project from Geetha Arts, with producer Bunny Vas revealing the film’s budget to be over ₹90 crore. Initially, there were concerns about the film’s financial viability following Chaitanya’s recent string of failures.
However, Thandel has proven its commercial potential, with the movie already recovering more than 50% of its budget through non-theatrical rights, including a massive deal with Netflix for digital rights across all languages. The film’s theatrical business is also performing well, with the Telugu version alone securing a ₹40 crore business. In total, the film’s business across all languages is expected to surpass ₹100 crore, placing it in a comfortable zone for the makers.
If Thandel grosses over ₹100 crore worldwide, the producers will be in profit territory. With positive word-of-mouth, the film has the potential to cross ₹150 crore, similar to the success of Karthikeya 2 in Hindi. While the buzz is strong in Telugu, the team will need to ramp up promotional efforts in other languages to generate more excitement.
Devi Sri Prasad’s Music a Big Plus for Thandel
The music of Thandel, composed by Devi Sri Prasad, has already gained traction with the release of three songs, including the trending Hilesso Hilessa, which is currently making waves on YouTube. The film’s trailer, set to release on January 28th, will be crucial for the film’s opening. If it resonates with the audience, Thandel is expected to have a strong debut, potentially marking a career-best start for Naga Chaitanya with a double-digit share collection on its opening day.
