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List of highest-grossing Telugu movies facts for kids

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Telugu cinema, often called Tollywood, is a big part of the movie world in India. It mainly makes movies in the Telugu language, which is spoken in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Tollywood is one of the largest movie-making places in India!

Did you know the 1992 film Gharana Mogudu, directed by K. Raghavendra Rao, was the first Telugu movie to earn over 10 crore at the box office? That's a lot of money!

This article will show you some of the most successful Telugu films, based on how much money they earned around the world. Sometimes, it's hard to get exact numbers for movie earnings, so the figures here are based on what most sources agree on.

Top Movies Worldwide

Movies earn money in two main ways: "Gross Collections" and "Share Collections."

What are Gross Collections?

Gross collections mean the total amount of money a movie makes from selling tickets. It's the full amount before anyone takes their cut.

Rank Title Year Studio Worldwide Gross
1 Baahubali: The Conclusion 2017 Arka Media Works 1,742 crore (US$300 million)
2 Baahubali: The Beginning 2015 Arka Media Works 602 crore (US$100 million)
3 Saaho 2019 UV Creations 408 crore (US$69 million)
4 Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo 2020 Haarika & Hassine Creations, Geetha Arts 263 crore (US$45 million)
5 Syeraa Narasimha Reddy 2019 Konidela Productions 225 crore (US$38 million)

What are Share Collections?

Share collections are the money that movie distributors get after the movie theaters take their part. It's like the profit left over after paying for the cinema space. For example, big movie theaters (multiplexes) might give 50% of ticket sales to the distributor in the first week.

Rank Title Year Studio Worldwide Share
1 Baahubali: The Conclusion 2017 Arka Media Works 813 crore (US$140 million)
2 Baahubali: The Beginning 2015 Arka Media Works 311 crore (US$53 million)
3 Saaho 2019 UV Creations 213 crore (US$36 million)
4 Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo 2020 Geetha Arts 161 crore (US$27 million)
5 Syeraa Narasimha Reddy 2019 Konidela Productions 145 crore (US$25 million)

Top Movies Each Year

Some movies are so popular that they become the highest-earning film of their year! Here are some of the top movies from recent years.

S. S. Rajamouli at the trailer launch of Baahubali
Films directed by S. S. Rajamouli, like Baahubali, have often been the highest-grossing films of the year and even of all time!
Year Title Studio
2020 Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo Geetha Arts
2019 Saaho UV Creations
2018 Rangasthalam Mythri Movie Makers
2017 Baahubali: The Conclusion Arka Media Works
2016 Janatha Garage Mythri Movie Makers
2015 Baahubali: The Beginning Arka Media Works
2014 Race Gurram Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Productions
2013 Attarintiki Daredi Reliance Entertainment, Sri Venkateswara Cine Chitra
2012 Gabbar Singh Parameswara Art Productions
2011 Dookudu 14 Reels Entertainment

Tollywood in the USA

Telugu movies are also very popular outside India, especially in the United States! Here are some of the top Telugu films based on how much they earned in the USA.

Rank Title Year Studio USA Gross
1 Baahubali: The Conclusion 2017 Arka Media Works US$20.77 million
2 Baahubali: The Beginning 2015 Arka Media Works US$7.51 million
3 Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo 2020 Geetha Arts US$3.61 million
4 Rangasthalam 2018 Mythri Movie Makers US$3.51 million
5 Bharat Ane Nenu 2018 DVV Entertainments US$3.42 million

Movie Records

Movies also break records for how much they earn on their first day or in their first week!

Biggest Opening Day Earnings

This shows which movies earned the most money on the very first day they were released in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Nizam (a region in Telangana).

Rank Movie Year Studio AP/Nizam Share Release Day
1 Baahubali: The Conclusion 2017 Arka Media Works 42.8 cr Friday
2 Syeraa Narasimha Reddy 2019 Konidela Production Company 37.7 cr Wednesday
3 Saaho 2019 UV Creations 36.2 cr Friday

Biggest Opening Week Earnings

This shows which movies earned the most money in their first week of release in Andhra Pradesh and Nizam.

Rank Movie Year Studio AP/Nizam Share
1 Baahubali: The Conclusion 2017 Arka Media Works 117.5 cr
2 Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo 2020 Geetha Arts 84.9 cr
3 Syeraa Narasimha Reddy 2019 Konidela Productions 83.0 cr
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