Despite the big names of Samantha, Dil Raju, and Gunasekhar, the first-day collection of Shakunthalam was mediocre.
Many were left wondering why there was no grand opening. Samantha is referred to as a lady superstar, and the investment made by Dil Raju and Gunasekhar amounted to a staggering 70 crores. However, two shocks followed.
Firstly, buyers claimed that the movie was not up to the mark, and it had to be released with final advances. Secondly, the movie did not receive a proper opening.
In Uttarandhra, the film couldn't bring a share of Rs 14 lakh. Yashoda was far better than this as that has collected Rs 16 lakh.
Lawrence's movie Rudrudu received ten lakh share in Uttarandhra, while Nizam brought in seventy to eighty lakhs. Yashoda's movie earned up to 65 lakhs.
We have to understand that this is Samantha's stamina. Be it Yashoda that was made with a budget of Rs 30 Cr to Rs 40 Cr or Shakuntala that was made with Rs 70 Cr the result is almost similar.
The industry was expecting Shakunthalam to generate more collections than Yashoda, but the marketing, publicity, or premiere planning seems to have gone awry somewhere, and the opening did not come.
The premiere especially had a significant impact on the movie's overall performance.
Comments are now circulating throughout the industry, stating that it is a grave mistake to premiere a movie, especially when the content is subpar.