Day 1: ‘Dude’ scores the best opening among new releases

A total of four films hit theatres this weekend ahead of the Diwali festival. “Mithra Mandali” arrived on Thursday, followed by “Telusu Kada” and “Dude” on Friday, while “K-Ramp” released today. Among the three films that came out earlier, Pradeep Ranganathan’s Dude registered the strongest opening.

Though none of the releases took the box office by storm, Dude managed to perform well in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Pradeep’s earlier films, Love Today and Return of the Dragon, were commercial successes, which helped build solid expectations for this one.

On Day 1, the film reportedly collected over Rs 10 crore in India from both Tamil and Telugu versions. This is an impressive start for a young star, though the industry expected even higher numbers. It appears the youth audience was not as enthusiastic as they were for his previous films.

In the USA, Dude grossed over $250K, which is a strong figure for a regional release.

However, the film received mixed reviews, with many critics pointing out that the second half loses steam.