Peddi Box Office Day 5: Ram Charan and Janhvi Kapoor starrer inches toward the 250 crore mark

Despite a sharp weekday decline and brewing controversy over character portrayal, the sports drama continues to command significant screen space.

The celebratory roar of the opening weekend has quieted, replaced by the sober reality of the first Monday blues. After a blockbuster start that saw the film rake in double-digit figures daily, Peddi—the Buchi Babu Sana directorial featuring Ram Charan and Janhvi Kapoor—witnessed a 62.5% dip on its fifth day. With Rs 12.05 crore added to the coffers, the total India net collection now stands at Rs 169.70 crore. Globally, the film has reached a total gross of Rs 248.92 crore, narrowly missing the Rs 250 crore milestone that many analysts expected it to cross by the start of the week.

A Tale of Two Markets

While the South Indian markets continue to anchor the film’s financial performance, the North Indian reception tells a different story. Despite a high-decibel promotional tour across Mumbai and Bhopal, the Hindi-dubbed version has struggled to gain traction. Industry trackers note a stark contrast; while domestic Telugu audiences propelled the film to a massive opening day of Rs 51 crore, the Hindi belt failed to mirror this momentum. This regional divide poses a challenge for the film’s long-term sustainability, as it struggles to achieve the pan-Indian reach characteristic of previous Ram Charan blockbusters.

The Cost of Controversy

Financials aside, the film is navigating a storm of criticism. Social media discourse has been dominated by backlash regarding the portrayal of Janhvi Kapoor’s character, Achiyamma. Critics and viewers alike have flagged the film for its questionable camera angles and dialogue that critics argue borders on promoting harassment, rather than empowering the lead. While producers maintain the film is a mass entertainer, the narrative disconnect—where the audience appreciates the technical craft and the lead actor's physical transformation but rejects the treatment of the female lead—is becoming a recurring theme in contemporary cinema.

Why it matters

The performance of Peddi highlights a growing friction between star power and script sensitivity in modern Indian cinema. Ram Charan’s ability to pull audiences to the theatre remains undisputed, yet the box office dip suggests that even the biggest stars are not immune to negative word-of-mouth. When audience sentiment shifts from excitement to moral critique, the impact on sustained ticket sales is swift. Moving forward, the industry will be watching to see if the film can hold its ground in its second week or if the combination of weekday fatigue and social media backlash will lead to a rapid cooldown at the box office.