Kannappa struggles at box office despite star cameos

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Vishnu Manchu’s much-talked-about film Kannappa made a promising start at theatres across India, but it quickly lost steam over its opening weekend. Even with the support of famous stars like Prabhas, Akshay Kumar, and Mohanlal in special appearances, the film could not keep up with its box office rivals.

Opening Day Hopes Fade Quickly

On its first day, Kannappa collected around ₹9.35 crore, which looked like a good sign. But Saturday saw a drop of nearly 23%, with only ₹7.15 crore coming in. Sunday showed a small recovery with ₹7.25 crore. By the end of the third day, the total stood at ₹23.75 crore across India.

Though this number seems decent on the surface, it didn’t match the performance of other films released around the same time. Dhanush’s Kuberaa, for example, earned ₹48.6 crore in just its first weekend. Similarly, HanuMan, another popular Indian film, had a much stronger opening.

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Star Power Not Enough

The film tried to attract attention with big cameos. Scenes featuring Prabhas, Akshay Kumar, and Mohanlal were promoted widely before release. However, audience turnout suggests that the presence of these stars didn’t help much after the initial buzz. Viewers expected more than short appearances.

Mixed Response Across Languages

Kannappa was released in four languages: Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, and Malayalam. Among these, only the Telugu version saw strong footfalls, with about 40% seat occupancy on Sunday. Tamil and Hindi versions had around 24% and 23% occupancy respectively, while Malayalam was the lowest, under 6%.

This uneven performance shows that the film mainly appealed to the Telugu-speaking audience. In other regions, it didn’t create the same excitement.

What Didn’t Work

Critics and viewers pointed out several weaknesses. Many said the film’s first half felt too slow and dragged. Despite good visual effects and a grand setting, the storyline lacked pace and direction. Some edits due to censorship might have made the story harder to follow.

Though the climax scenes and star cameos gave the audience some excitement, they weren’t enough to make up for the issues in storytelling.

Looking Ahead

As Kannappa enters its first weekday run, the real test begins. It’s common for films to drop in earnings on weekdays, and only strong word-of-mouth can keep numbers steady. With current feedback being mixed, the coming days will decide if the film can recover or continue to slip.