Tollywood
Can Ustaad Bhagat Singh Match the Box Office Benchmark Set by They Call Him OG? Early Advance Sales Offer First Clues
BY SACNILK
Advance booking trends for Ustaad Bhagat Singh, starring Pawan Kalyan, have begun to attract attention, as the film approaches its premiere. Early overseas ticket sales and initial domestic booking data are providing the first indicators of audience interest. With expectations naturally high around a Pawan Kalyan release, the film's early performance is already being measured against his previous major success, They Call Him OG, which emerged as one of the notable Telugu box office performers of 2025. According to data shared by trade tracker Venky Box Office, Ustaad Bhagat Singh has so far collected $234,504 in USA premiere advance sales. The numbers currently come from 411 locations, 1,070 shows, and 10,251 tickets sold. When including the wider North America market, premiere advance sales have reached approximately $255,000, with around two days remaining before the premiere screenings. As bookings continue to open in additional locations, these figures represent an early snapshot rather than the final advance booking position. Domestic ticketing activity has also begun to build gradually. With booking windows still limited across many regions, Ustaad Bhagat Singh reportedly sold around 14,690 tickets within 24 hours on BookMyShow as of March 15, suggesting a steady start in early pre-release demand. The early numbers inevitably invite comparison with They Call Him OG, which set a strong commercial benchmark for Pawan Kalyan in 2025. The film concluded its theatrical run with ₹230 crore India Gross, ₹189 crore India Net, and ₹65 crore from overseas markets, taking its worldwide gross to approximately ₹295 crore. The film was ultimately declared a Hit and went on to become Pawan Kalyan's career-best grosser at the time. North America played a particularly important role in the success of They Call Him OG. The film finished its run with $5.596 million (₹49.24 crore) in the region, including $5.319 million (₹46.80 crore) from the United States and $277,000 (₹2.44 crore) from Canada. In terms of language performance, the Telugu version accounted for $5.554 million, while the Hindi version contributed about $42,000. These numbers placed the film among the Top 8 highest-grossing Telugu films of all time in North America, with the Telugu version ranking Top 7 among Telugu-language releases in the territory. Ahead of its release, the film's theatrical business has been closed across territories. In the Telugu states, the total business stands at around ₹106 crore, including GST, with the Uttarandhra territory contributing significantly to the Andhra deals. Outside the Telugu states, the film has reportedly secured ₹8.5 crore in the Rest of India, while overseas rights are valued at approximately ₹12.5 crore. Combining all territories, the worldwide theatrical business stands at approximately ₹127 crore. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}) Against this backdrop, Ustaad Bhagat Singh is scheduled for release on March 19, carrying strong expectations at the box office. The film stars Pawan Kalyan in the lead and is directed by Harish Shankar. The songs are composed by Devi Sri Prasad, while S. Thaman has handled the background score. The cast also includes Sreeleela and Raashi Khanna in the female lead roles, with the project produced by Mythri Movie Makers. However, the box office landscape for Ustaad Bhagat Singh will also be shaped by the simultaneous release of Dhurandhar 2: The Revenge, which is hitting theatres on the same date, March 19. The Ranveer Singh-led spy action sequel has generated massive pre-release buzz across India and overseas, with reports indicating over one million tickets sold in advance bookings and strong demand across multiplex chains. The film is also releasing in multiple languages, including Telugu, after the first part gained a notable following in the Telugu states and among younger audiences. Early booking trends indicate strong traction, with the Telugu 2D version alone reporting around ₹42.85 lakh in first-day advance bookings from about 32,550 tickets and approximately ₹92.16 lakh in premiere advance sales from about 49,385 tickets. These numbers suggest that the film has managed to attract considerable interest among Telugu audiences even before release. With both films arriving during the Ugadi–Eid holiday window and targeting overlapping multiplex screens, the competition for show capacity and audience attention could become a significant factor in determining the opening weekend trajectory. Whether Ustaad Bhagat Singh can match or surpass the benchmark set by They Call Him OG may ultimately depend not only on its own momentum but also on how strongly it holds its ground against the pan-India wave surrounding Dhurandhar 2.
