Daaku Maharaaj box office collection day 1: Nandamuri Balakrishna film beats Bhagavanth Kesari's opening, earns Rs...

Headlined by Nandamuri Balakrishna, the Telugu language action drama Daaku Maharaaj was released in the theaters on January 12 ahead of the Sankranti festival. The Bobby Kolli directorial also stars Bobby Deol (in his Telugu debut), Pragya Jaiswal, Shraddha Shrinath, and Urvashi Jaiswal in pivotal roles.

Daaku Maharaaj opened to positive reviews from the audiences and critics, and took a strong start at the box office. The action scenes, cinematography, Nandamuri Balakrishna's performance, and Thaman S's music are being hailed as the highlights of the film, while its writing and direction has received criticism.

As per the early estimates from the entertainment tracking portal Sacnilk, Daaku Maharaaj collected Rs 22.5 crore net in India on its opening day. The action drama has beaten the opening day figures of Balakrishna's previous film Bhagavanth Kesari, which had earned Rs 16.6 crore on its opening day in India on October 19 last year.

The opening day haul of Daaku Maharaaj is quite impressive considering it faced competition from Ram Charan-starrer Game Changer. The Shankar-directed political action thriller, which starred Kiara Advani as the leading lady and SJ Suryah as the main antagonist, had released on Friday, January 10. It earned Rs 17 crore on Sunday, taking its three-day collection to Rs 90 crore, after it had opened at Rs 51 crore.

Nandamuri Balakrishna will be seen next in the action-packed drama Akhanda 2: Thandavam, which is the sequel to the 2021 hit Akhanda. The upcoming film will be helmed by Boyapati Srinu, who also directed the first part. Akhanda 2: Thandavam is set to release in the theatres on September 25, 2025.