Hyderabad | January 22, 2026
Prabhas’ ‘The Raja Saab’ Declared a Major Flop, Recovers Only 35% of Its Massive ₹400 Crore Budget
Prabhas’ big Sankranti 2026 release ‘The Raja Saab’, directed by Maruthi, has failed to live up to box office expectations. Despite strong pre-release hype, the horror-comedy has been declared one of the actor’s biggest disappointments, recovering just 35% of its massive budget.
Budget vs Recovery: Sharp Underperformance
Made on a huge ₹400 crore budget, the film has collected only ₹140.50 crore net in India within 11 days.
Trade sources confirm that the film’s total recovery currently stands at only 35%, making it one of the weakest performers among Prabhas’ recent films.
Box Office Crash After Strong Opening
The film began on a promising note with a ₹100.60 crore worldwide opening. However:
Negative reviews
Poor audience feedback
Weak word of mouth
…caused the collections to crash during the second week.
By Day 12, the film was earning below ₹1 crore per day, touching around ₹73 lakh, a sharp decline for a high-budget Telugu release.
Reasons Behind the Failure
1. Negative Word of Mouth
Critics and audiences pointed out:
Weak screenplay
Average VFX
Lackluster storytelling
These factors significantly affected repeat audiences and weekend footfalls.
2. Strong Competition
Chiranjeevi’s blockbuster ‘Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu’ dominated Telugu states during the Sankranti period, overshadowing Prabhas’ release.
With massive positive buzz around the Chiranjeevi starrer, The Raja Saab quickly lost market share.
Worldwide Collection
Despite its struggles, the film has grossed around ₹201.75 crore worldwide.
Although the figure appears sizeable, it is far from enough to cover its huge production cost, leading trade trackers to classify it as a “big disaster.”
Career Impact
This marks one of the biggest setbacks in Prabhas’ career after ‘Radhe Shyam’, raising concerns about script selection and genre experimentation.
Industry analysts say Prabhas must now rely on upcoming high-profile releases to regain momentum.
