The Paradise box office: Nani enters $2M club in North America as reviews stay mixed

Natural Star Nani's The Paradise has had a strong start but an uneven first weekend at the box office. The pan-India action drama, which also features Kayadu Lohar, opened on September 24 to mixed reviews, though Nani's own performance has drawn praise. Srikanth Odela directed the film, Sudhakar Cherukuri produced it under SLV Cinemas, and Anirudh composed the music.

After four days, the film has reportedly earned Rs 138.9 crore gross and Rs 80.94 crore share worldwide. Andhra Pradesh and Telangana together account for Rs 56.27 crore share, led by a big Rs 32.67 crore from Nizam. The rest of India, Hindi included, adds Rs 10.92 crore, and overseas adds Rs 13.75 crore share. Some reports put the worldwide figure higher, saying the film has already crossed Rs 150 crore and could reach Rs 200 crore within days.

The film still reportedly needs about Rs 16.06 crore share to break even, so the weekday run will matter a lot. Nizam is the bright spot and is said to be close to breaking even, while other regions have fallen short of expectations.

The overseas story is also mixed. Over its four-day extended weekend, the film reportedly collected $2.95 million abroad, close to Rs 28 crore. Most of that came on day one, which brought in $2.3 million. The remaining days added only about $650K, and the negative reviews appear to have hurt the film abroad.

There is still a milestone for Nani. The Paradise has reportedly crossed $2 million in North America, his fourth film to do so after Dasara, Saripodhaa Sanivaaram and HIT 3. It is also said to be his 12th film in the million-dollar club. That puts him among only six Telugu stars with a hat-trick of $2 million grossers, next to Mahesh Babu, Prabhas, NTR, Allu Arjun and Ram Charan.

No notable film is reportedly releasing next week, which gives The Paradise room to hold up in its second week.