South box office report: Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu opens big as Parasakthi, The Raja Saab slow down

South box office report: The South Indian box office witnessed an eventful start to the Sankranti week, with multiple big releases competing for audience attention across languages. From a festive blockbuster opening to sharp weekday drops, January 12 painted a clear picture of how films are shaping up in theatres.

All eyes were on Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu, the Sankranti action-comedy headlined by Chiranjeevi. Directed by Anil Ravipudi, the film opened to strong word-of-mouth from Telugu audiences and made a powerful first impression at the ticket counters.

Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu box office collection

According to Sacnilk, the film earned Rs 28.50 crore on day one, while paid pre-sales added another Rs 8.60 crore. This took its total opening-day gross to an impressive Rs 37.10 crore. Released on January 12 to coincide with Sankranti, the festive timing clearly worked in its favour.

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Chiranjeevi plays the titular Shankara Vara Prasad, with Venkatesh appearing as Venky Gowda and Nayanthara essaying the role of Sasirekha. The ensemble cast also includes Catherine Tresa, Zarina Wahab, Harsh Vardhan and Abhinav Gomatam. Produced by Sahu Garapati, Sushmita Konidela and S Krishna, the film has clearly struck a chord with family audiences.

Parasakthi box office collection

Tamil political drama Parasakthi, starring Sivakarthikeyan, started its run on a solid note. The film collected Rs 12.5 crore on its opening day and followed it up with Rs 10.1 crore on day two, taking the two-day total to Rs 22.60 crore.

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However, Monday proved challenging. On day three, Parasakthi earned just Rs 2.75 crore, pushing its total to Rs 25.35 crore. Theatre occupancy reflected the slowdown, with an overall Tamil occupancy of 19.70% on Monday. Morning shows remained weak, while night shows performed slightly better.

Sarvam Maya box office collection

Malayalam release Sarvam Maya, starring Nivin Pauly, continues its stable run. Directed by Akhil Sathyan, the film earned around Rs 1.10 crore on day 19. Its total collection now stands at Rs 66.30 crore in India.

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While weekday numbers remain modest, the film showed healthy weekend growth in its third week, signalling sustained audience interest.

The Raja Saab collection

Meanwhile, The Raja Saab, led by Prabhas, saw a clear Monday drop. The film collected Rs 6.29 crore on day four, after earning Rs 53.75 crore on day one, Rs 26 crore on day two and Rs 19.10 crore on day three. Including paid previews of Rs 9.15 crore, the total collection now stands at Rs 114.29 crore.