Vishnu Manchu’s mythological drama ‘Kannappa’ is running in theatres and is performing decently at the box office. After opening to a positive reception from audiences and earning praise for its emotional second half and powerful star cameos of Prabhas, Akshay Kumar, Mohanlal, the film entered its first Monday with an expected dip, but held on well given the weekday scenario.Kannappa Movie ReviewAccording to early estimates from trade analyst Sacnilk, ‘Kannappa’ made Rs 2.5 crore on its first Monday, bringing its total collection over four days to Rs 25.90 crore. The mythological epic premiered in theatres on Friday, June 27. It started strong, earning Rs 9.35 crore on Day 1, followed by Rs 7.15 crore on Saturday and Rs 6.9 crore on Sunday.Occupancy trendAlthough the film experienced a typical drop in numbers on Monday, ‘Kannappa’ continued to attract good audiences, especially for its Telugu version, due to its cultural appeal. In Tamil-speaking regions, the film had an overall occupancy of 11.38%. The turnout throughout the day was fairly balanced: 10.74% in the morning, 12.08% in the afternoon, 9.41% in the evening, and 13.28% during the night shows.The Telugu version, as the original language, performed better with an overall Monday occupancy of 15.53%. The morning started at 12.22%. It gradually improved to 16.16% in the afternoon and peaked at 17.42% in the evening, followed by 16.32% in the night shows.The Hindi version of ‘Kannappa’ had a steady performance for a dubbed release, with an overall occupancy of 9.39%. The turnout began at 3.91% in the morning and increased to 9.06% in the afternoon, 10.30% in the evening, and 14.29% in the night shows. This reflects growing interest among northern audiences. In Malayalam-speaking areas, the film had a modest overall occupancy of 6.97%, with 5.43% in the morning, 8.63% in the afternoon, 5.16% in the evening, and 8.66% in the night shows.About the filmDirected by Mukesh Kumar Singh, ‘Kannappa’ is based on the story of Thinnadu, a fearless tribal warrior who becomes one of Lord Shiva’s most ardent devotees. Vishnu Manchu plays the titular role with conviction, while Akshay Kumar takes on the divine role of Lord Shiva. Prabhas gives an impactful appearance as Rudra, and Mohanlal as Kirata has added tremendous star power and helped pull in audiences across markets.The film also features Preity Mukhundhan, Mohan Babu, R. Sarathkumar, Brahmanandam, Brahmaji, and Madhoo, among others.Despite the initial box office success, ‘Kannappa’ has faced piracy issues, with Vishnu Manchu taking to social media to appeal to fans to avoid illegal viewing. He shared that over 30,000 piracy links had been taken down. He wrote, “Dear movie lovers, #Kannappa is under attack from piracy. Over 30,000 illegal links have already been taken down. This is heartbreaking. Piracy is theft — plain and simple. We don’t teach our children to steal. Watching pirated content is no different. Please don’t encourage it. Support cinema the right way. Har Har Mahadev”.
