Ranabaali, starring Vijay Deverakonda and Rashmika Mandanna, collapsed at the North American box office in its second weekend, registering a 93% drop from its opening frame. The Rahul Sankrityan directorial has now grossed under $1 million in the territory after 10 days, against a reported break-even target of $2.2 million.
The film released in North America on October 16, 2026, a day after Rajinikanth’s Jailer 2, which dominated advance sales in the market and drew away screens and audience attention.
Opening Weekend Set the Collapse in Motion
Ranabaali’s three-day opening weekend in North America concluded at just $704,000, according to Koimoi. The figure included $262,000 from premieres.
Day 1, including premieres, stood at $437,000. The film then declined on Saturday to $166,000 and fell further on Sunday to $97,000.
The downward trend from opening day signaled weak word-of-mouth among neutral audiences, despite the film marking the on-screen reunion of Deverakonda and Mandanna after Dear Comrade in 2019.
Break-Even Target Now Out of Reach
Ranabaali needed to gross $2.2 million in North America to break even, a figure that equates to roughly Rs 20.87 crore. After three days, it had recovered only 32% of that target.
By the first Monday, total North American collections had reached just $739,000, according to trade tracker M9 News. The 93% second-weekend drop has effectively closed the gap needed to hit the $2.2 million mark.
Sacnilk reported that overseas buyers paid a career-high price for the film. Trade estimates suggest the overseas run is trending toward a 55% to 60% loss for distributors, with a projected closing total of only $1.2 million to $1.35 million in North America.
Global Performance and Budget Pressure
Worldwide, Ranabaali crossed Rs 75 crore gross by its 12th day, according to Zeebiz. Domestic net collections stood at approximately Rs 53 crore as of day 10, with overseas contributing around Rs 12 crore.
The film’s production budget is reported between Rs 120 crore and Rs 150 crore, making it Deverakonda’s most expensive project to date.
A distributor told Cinejosh that non-theatrical rights had already fetched Rs 70 crore for the production house. The remaining recovery must come from theatres and music rights.
The same distributor said theatrical collections had dropped to about Rs 3 crore a day, a pace described as insufficient to bridge the gap. The film needs to touch a Rs 50 crore theatrical share but has managed only around Rs 30 crore.
Competition and Reception
Ranabaali opened to mixed reviews and faced direct competition from Jailer 2, which released a day earlier and went on to become the highest-grossing Tamil film of all time.
The period action drama is set against the Madras Famine of 1876-78. It stars Arnold Vosloo as the British antagonist Sir Theodore Hector, with music by Ajay-Atul. It was produced by Mythri Movie Makers.
Despite the commercial struggle, Ranabaali entered the top 10 highest-grossing Telugu films of 2026, a reflection of the film’s scale rather than its profitability.
Current Status
Ranabaali continues its theatrical run with a reduced screen count. Its second-week performance in India and overseas offers no indication of a recovery strong enough to approach its reported break-even targets.
