While Prabhas is not new to big openings, including recording massive figures worldwide thanks to the diaspora, his hold on the North Indian market remains fascinating. “Prabhas stands tall among all pan-India stars,” trade critic Taran Adarsh ​​told Indianexpress.com. “In fact, with due respect to everyone, he is the tallest,” he added.

Kalki 2898 AD has recorded the second-best Hindi film opening of the year after Hrithik Roshan-led Fighter, but there is a catch. Fighter was billed as a big scale aerial actioner with Hrithik — who the Hindi film audiences have known since his debut in 2000 — directed by Siddharth Anand, who was coming off the Rs 1000 crore success of Shah Rukh Khan’s Pathaan, co-starring Deepika Padukone in her golden run and Vishal-Shekhar’s music to keep the publicity campaign alive. It was also released on Thursday, with Republic Day as its second day. Kalki 2898 AD had no such benefits, as it opened on a working Thursday, with no national holiday the next day.

“And there was the big India vs England semi-final cricket match as well, which did impact its evening and night shows, otherwise the collections would have been 10 percent more,” veteran distributor and exhibitor Raj Bansal noted. But what is the Prabhas magic that makes Hindi film audiences turn up for him? The answer is multifold.

“I would give full credit to Baahubali one and two,” Taran Adarsh ​​says about Prabhas’ staggering rise in the Hindi market over the years. “The contribution of SS Rajamouli cannot be denied. His character was so much loved, and so was Prabhas, that the audience cannot erase him from their minds and hearts.”

SS Rajamouli’s Baahubali 2 (2017) smashed existing box office records of Indian cinema, Hindi market notwithstanding. The film had an opening day of Rs 41 crore and ended its run at Rs 510 crore — a record which was held for six years before Shah Rukh Khan’s Pathaan broke it in 2023. But a superstar’s might is not examined by what the lifetime collections of his films stand at; it is the opening day and weekend that determines their pull. Which is where Prabhas rises and surprises, despite the duds that followed Baahubali 2.

His first release after the Rajamouli epic was the actioner Saaho, which opened at Rs 18 cr and ended at a disaster of Rs 153 cr in the Hindi market. But except for his 2022 romantic drama Radhe Shyam, which was dead on arrival at Rs 4.44 cr, every other subsequent Prabhas film managed to clock good opening numbers, despite poor reviews. Adipurush, the controversial screen adaptation of the epic Ramayana, opened at Rs 36 cr, followed by last December’s Salaar, which netted Rs 24 cr despite a clash with Shah Rukh’s Christmas release Dunki.

“In this industry, you are known by your last Friday. Salaar clashed with a Shah Rukh Khan film, but Adipurush didn’t work and before that was Radhe Shyam, which was a disaster. When you have back-to-back disasters, anyone can be shaken. It is a ruthless industry, but people don’t remember Radhe Shyam or Adipurush, they remember him for Baahubali. That is the love and respect they have for him,” Taran Adarsh ​​explained.

A trade source shared the reason why the Hindi audiences show up to watch Prabhas, is because he is doing what Bollywood heroes aren’t. “He is doing the kind of films that Hindi stars are not doing — larger than life spectacles which warrant a theatrical viewing. They may be good or bad but at least they create the initial euphoria because of the visuals, set up and scale. It is the case of him doing exciting films, which can’t be experienced on mobile phones or TV.”

It is not that his past few duds did not dent his credibility. The source explains how the failures have chewed up his profits and opening numbers of his recent films. “If there was no Adipurush, Salaar would have opened higher by Rs 30 cr, because it would have been his first action film after Baahubali and Saaho. But Radhe Shyam and Adipurush dented that and took out at least 15-20 percent of Salaar’s business.

“So if it did Rs 140 cr, it would have done over Rs 180 cr if the previous outings hadn’t played a spoilsport. Same with Kalki, if Salaar would have opened better, then this would have opened around Rs 28 cr, and not Rs 21 cr. So, the impact is there, but his weaker films are better than the stronger films of most in today’s times.”

Adarsh ​​said what works in Prabhas’ favor is that he has won over the “hardcore mass areas”, where the “real star power” is flexed. “Why do we always talk of 90s superstars even today? Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan, Ajay Devgn, Akshay Kumar and even Hrithik Roshan? Because they have been able to penetrate beyond metros and cities. They have gone deeper into the pockets. That’s the case with Prabhas.”

Raj Bansal said the euphoria of Prabhas must also be looked at from what he manages to do on a global scale. The kind of numbers his film clock can only be mirrored by Shah Rukh Khan.

“Sure his hold in mass pockets is stronger than many current day Hindi film actors and not just that, if you look at USA and overseas markets, Shah Rukh Khan dominates that list, after him there’s only Prabhas who matches his box office numbers in the territory. His films take opening because the audience trust has remained intact. They just back on his name and brand of cinema, so they come film after film for him. He is undoubtedly the strongest pan-India star today, with Allu Arjun, and Jr NTR also right behind him.”

Adarsh ​​said there is an “incredible faith” people have in Prabhas, that at least on face value, there will be “some assurance of an entertainer”. The trade critic said what also works in his favor — and in turn his choices — is his honesty.

“I had met him after Adipurush teaser launch and told him that I didn’t like it. But he said we will work harder. He respects a professional, and accepts faults. That’s a big quality as a superstar, to move on, and look forward gracefully. That’s the reason why there is always a queue of producers outside his house. He works on limited films as well, it isn’t like, ‘Maine dukaan khol di hai, aajao!’ That explains why he is consistent, it is phenomenal, what a track record, irrespective of failures and non performers.”

In terms of Hindi market ranking, the trade source shared that Prabhas has now cemented his position in the top four bracket. “He is the biggest pan-India star. He is in fact the biggest star from the Southern market to leave a mark in the North Indian belt, probably surpassing Rajinikanth also, in terms of the impact a South star has created in the northern market. He is not the biggest star of Hindi, which will continue to be the two Khans — Shah Rukh and Salman, depending on which is the right film. But Prabhas is definitely in the top four stars list in the Hindi market at this time.”