Baahubali 2 is unstoppable at box office: 10 records that the film broke

As  fans waited with bated breath to know Why Kattappa killed Baahubali? it wasn't surprising to see a beeline in front of movie theatres on April 28 when Baahubali 2: The Conclusion released. Undoubtedly, the thrill helped the film garner a record opening at the box office and the story line also struck the right chord with the audiences.

Prior to the Baahubali 2's release, analysts told Business Standard that the film could be a game changer looking at its unprecedented hype. (Read more here)

The film, starring Prabhas, Rana Daggubati, Anushka Shetty and Tamannaah continues shatter box office records. It netted Rs 320-325 crore over the first three days of release. Here are the ten records which the film broke at the box office till now:

1. Opening weekend collection (Hindi): According to Box Office India, Baahubali - The Conclusion has created history by collecting more than Rs 125 crore over the first weekend in its Hindi format. The film broke Salman Khan-starrer Sultan's record which collected a little over Rs 105 crore and Aamir Khan's Dangal which collected around Rs 107 crore.

Friday - Rs 40,75,00,000 approximately

Saturday - Rs 40,25,00,000 approximately

Sunday - Rs 46,50,00,000 approximately

Total - Rs 1,27,50,00,000 approximately
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Uber to take on FoodPanda, Swiggy in India with the launch of UberEats

San Francisco-based ride hailing platform Uber launched its food ordering and delivery service UberEats in India, starting off with making the service available in the city of Mumbai.

The move marks yet another commitment from company in India which is currently engaged in a bitter battle with Softbank-funded Ola for winning the country’s ride hailing market. Uber had kicked off its service in India in August 2013 by offering its service to riders in Bengaluru at first.

While Uber did not share too many details, the company said it would look to expand the service to six Indian cities, presumably the country’s largest metros, by the end of 2017. The launch of UberEats in Mumbai will take the number of cities the service is present in up to 78, spread across 26 countries.

“The introduction of UberEATS in India, with Mumbai as the first city, is a major step in our global expansion and showcases our commitment to the region. The app brings the perfect pairing of amazing restaurant partners, innovative technology, and the efficient Uber delivery network at a tap of a button to people in India,” said Bhavik Rathod, Head of UberEATS India.

Rathod had served as the General Manager for Uber’s ride hailing service in India since its entry into the country in 2013.

UberEats will go head to head with services such as FoodPanda, Zomato and Swiggy, which are already well established in all the large Indian cities. All three companies have thousands of restaurants partnering with them, and it will be interesting to see how Uber plans to woo them to join its service.
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Jio effect? You could soon buy a 4G feature phone only for Rs 1,500

Last year, Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio disrupted the telecom space with extremely affordable 4G tariffs. The company seems to be geared to continue its disruptive streak by launching low-cost feature phones that, apparently, will do away with the need for smartphones.

Business Standard in January had reported that Reliance Jio was considering to launch 4G VoLTE-ready feature phones that would cost around Rs 999, with access to Jio’s high-speed 4G internet, the Jio digital store and play music.

According to a report published by The Economic Times on Tuesday, Chinese mobile chip maker Spreadtrum Communications has said it is working on reducing starting prices by at least half from the current levels, which might bring the 4G feature phone prices down to Rs 1,500.

READ MORE - Rs 325 cr in 3 days: Baahubali 2 is now the highest opening Indian film

Shanghai-based Spreadtrum Communications has a two-year old partnership with Reliance Industries Ltd and has powered its affordable LYF Flame 5 smartphone.

Reliance Jio Infocomm is understood to be in talks with Chinese contract manufacturers like Techchain, FortuneShip and Uniscope to explore manufacturing of 4G VoLTE feature phones, said a Financial Express report.

Prices of 4G feature phones from home-grown manufacturers such as Lava and Micromax start at about Rs 3,000. Both these handset makers, besides Karbonn, plan to reduce prices of such phones further. Reliance Jio Infocomm is also planning to bring in affordable 4G VoLTE feature phones through its sister retail firm that may be priced under Rs 1,500, according to people aware of the matter, further said the ET report.
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Rs 325 cr in 3 days: Baahubali 2 is now the highest opening Indian film

It released to perhaps the most hype seen by an Indian movie in a long time, and it did not disappoint. S S Rajmouli's Baahubali 2: The Conclusion opened with Rs 121 crore collection (previous/early estimates were Rs 125 crore) and continued its good run at the cinemas over the weekend, netting Rs 320-325 crore over the first three days of release.
At Rs 320-325 crore, Baahubali 2 is now the highest opening Indian film, beating Bollywood blockbusters and its predecessor Baahubali: The Beginning (2015) by a huge margin. The highest opening weekend collection by a Bollywood film so far is by Sultan (2016) at Rs 180 crore. However, the movie was released mid-week and hence enjoyed a five-day opening weekend. If one were to consider the Fri-Sun opening weekend period, Baahublali 2 has left Sultan far behind as estimates peg the opening weekend collection for the Hindi dub version only at Rs 128 crore (net after tax).

READ MORE - Despite Delhi MCD win, wary BJP allows Kejriwal to settle AAP infighting

In the coming days, the movie is set to break even more records. Already the most widely distributed Indian film ever at 6,500 screens, the film's business seemed to be holding steady on Monday, leading trade pundits to estimate a 30 per cent or less drop in collection on the first day of the week. The fact that Monday, May 1 was a holiday for many office and educational institutions on account of Labour Day and/or Maharashtra Day (in that state) will also work in the favour of the magnum opus.

As things stand, Baahubali 2 is no doubt the most successful Indian movie ever. It is already the highest grossing Hindi dub version of a regional film and by the looks of it, is ready to pull a Jungle Book, by being in the top three movies of the year for the Bollywood genre (Hindi language). Last year, Disney's Jungle Book made a whopping Rs 190 crore at the box office, becoming the most successful Hollywood film to release in India, and also the third highest collector of the year.

There is also almost no doubt now that Baahubali 2 will surpass the first part's lifetime global gross collection of Rs 650 crore. Early reports suggest that the international performance of the film (it was released in 2,500 screens ex-India) is close to Rs 120 crore over the weekend. This takes the worldwide gross for Baahubali 2 in the opening weekend to Rs 540 crore approximately, meaning it is inching closer to the predecessor's lifetime worldwide gross at a fast part. It is currently on number 7 in the list of the highest collecting films from India (gross worldwide).
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Despite Delhi MCD win, wary BJP allows Kejriwal to settle AAP infighting

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is busy imploding. At stake is its government in Delhi and the reputation of party chief, Arvind Kejriwal. Time is running out for the Delhi chief minister to get his house in order.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is keen to fish in troubled waters, but its recent success in Delhi civic polls has come as an eye-opener. It is conscious of the fact that the primary reason of its success in the civic polls was the split in opposition votes. This has made the party a tad circumspect in forcing fresh assembly polls in Delhi.

This is where senior AAP leader Amanatullah Khan’s allegations on Kumar Vishwas, a prominent AAP leader, become significant. Khan, a member of AAP’s political affairs committee, has accused Vishwas of attempting a coup to dislodge Kejriwal. Khan has further alleged that Vishwas, if he were to fail, would then proceed to split the party to walk away with AAP legislators to the BJP fold with each legislator being offered Rs 30 crore.

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Party chief Kejriwal has come to Kumar’s defence. “Kumar is my younger brother. Some people are trying to drive a wedge between us. They are the enemies of the party. They should refrain. No one can separate us,” he tweeted. Vishwas retweeted Kejriwal’s tweet.

But the loss in the civic polls has rattled Kejriwal. More than the number of seats, it was the precipitous fall in the party’s vote share that has the party leadership shaking. The AAP got 26.23 per cent, which is half of the 54.30 per cent it bagged in the 2015 assembly polls that it had swept by winning 67 of Delhi’s 70 assembly seats.

Interestingly, it wasn’t the BJP but the Congress and smaller parties that have gained at AAP’s expense. The Congress increased its vote share to 21.09 per cent in the recent civic polls. This is up from the 9.8 per cent in the 2015 assembly polls.
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