Ravi Teja's latest release Disco Raja, which hit screens on January 24, has turned out to be a colossal disappointment. The film is already on its last legs and has virtually no chances of reaching breakeven. In fact, in a best-case scenario, the actioner will end its run with a worldwide share of Rs eight crore, recovering merely 40 per cent of the investment. With the 'Mass Maharaja' starrer biting the dust, here is a look at the main reasons behind the Disco Raja debacle.
Ravi Teja's poor form: Ravi Teja, once considered to be one of Tollywood's most entertaining mass heroes, is going through a bad phase on the professional side of things. None of his recent releases, barring Raja The Great, have done well at the box office and this has taken a toll on his standing in the industry. The sad fact is his lacklustre form diluted the buzz around Disco Raja, resulting in a weak opening.
History repeats itself: The first big release after Sankranti usually struggles to make an impact if it does not feature an A-lister. Young hero Akhil Akkineni, last year, learnt this the hard way when Mr Majnu under-performed at the ticket window. Sadly, this time around, Ravi Teja felt the 'post-Sankranti curse'.
Bad timing: Sankranti 2020 proved to be a terrific time for Tollywood with Mahesh Babu's Sarileru Neekevvaru and the Allu Arjun starrer Ala Vaikunthapurramloo emerging as runaway hits. Being family friendly-entertainers, both flicks remained the top choice of fans even two weeks after hitting screens and this took a toll on Disco Raja's box office performance.
Negative reviews: While Ravi Teja received reasonably favourable reviews for his lively act in Disco Raja, the fact remains that the film as a whole failed to impress most critics, who dubbed it a 'half-baked' attempt at storytelling. This resulted in an unhealthy Word of Mouth (WoM), virtually sealing the movie's fate.