'They call him OG' box office collection advance booking crosses Rs 75 crore: Can Pawan Kalyan end his 12-year wait for a blockbuster?

Not many stars in Tollywood command the level of craze that Pawan Kalyan does. Like some prominent south superstars, Kalyan's career has also got hit by politics but his stardom remains unaffected. Since June 2024, Kalyan has been serving as the Deputy Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh and continues to be an active politician.

However, his long delayed film They call him OG is finally ready for release and is set to hit the big screen on Thursday (September 25). It must be remembered that another delayed film of his, Hari Hara Veera Mallu, released on July 24 this year and sank without a trace. The two releases prior to that, Bheemla Nayak in 2022 and Bro (extended cameo) in 2023, had also crashed at the box office. Kalyan's 2021's release Vakeel Saab can be considered a box office success, when you factor in the COVID19 pandemic restrictions and reduced valuation of its distribution of rights. However, it still cannot be considered a genuine hit at the box office, certainly not a hit worthy of a superstar.

Attarintiki Daredi in 2013 was a landmark film for Kalyan as he recorded his first-ever Industry Hit a.k.a record-breaker film. It remains the only film in the last two decades to beat a record set by a SS Rajamouli film. Attarintiki Daredi had beaten the collections of Magadheera to become Tollywood's all-time highest grossing film. It was also a golden phase in Kalyan's career, given that his 2012 release Gabbar Singh also finished in the top-3 grossers of all time. However, after the release of Attarintiki Daredi, things have gone downhill for Kalyan, fondly known as 'Powerstar' amongst Telugu audiences. Vakeel Saab remains his only hit in the 12 years since with all the other films ending up as flops or disasters.

The remake fetish and horror run from 2014-2025

During the last 12 years, the one thing that has been synoymous with Kalyan's film is a large of remakes. He has opted for lots of remakes during these times and while all these films were big successes in their original versions, Kalyan wasn't able to do justice to them in Telugu. Som

Gopala Gopala (2015): Remake of the Hindi film Oh My God

Katamarayudu (2017): Remake of the Tamil film Veeram

Vakeel Saab (2021): Remake of Hindi film Pink

Bheemla Nayak (2022): Remake of Malayalam film Ayyappanum Koshiyum

Bro (2023) : Remake of Tamil film Vinodhaya Seetham

Of these, only Vakeel Saab emerged a success and perhaps, it could have been a blockbuster if not for the COVID19 pandemic. But all the other films tanked at the box office.

Misfiring career choices and the politics effect

Sardaar Gabbar Singh (2016) and Hari Hara Veera Mallu (2025) were both films of extreme hype when they were announced. However, Kalyan's political flavour meant that his passion around films took a backseat. Both films had considerable delays and by the time they hit the screens, they were products that nobody was really interested about.

The massive hype around They call him OG

Agnyaathavaasi (2018) was the only Kalyan film in the last decade to have a proper releasew without delays and it had monstrous pre-release hype. After all, it was the Attarintiki Daredi combo of Kalyan and director Trivikram reuniting after five years but even that couldn't save the film which crashed after a historic opening day. Seven years later, They call him OG is arguably Kalyan's most-hyped film ever and currently, advance bookings are set to touch Rs 75 crore, hinting at a earth-shattering start at the ticket windows. The official trailer has received overwhelming response and to see Kalyan in a hardcore action thriller has set the buzz ablaze.

The film's director Sujeeth is highly rated although his Prabhas-starrer Saaho failed to live up to its hype. Nevertheless, he is considered as a film-maker with immense potential and the promos of They call him OG definitely suggest that it will be a technically slick film. All the parameters look to be ticked for this Kalyan-starrer and all it needs now is a good word-of-mouth for the box office to be shredded to bits. The worldwide advance booking has touched Rs 75 crore and is on track to go past Rs 100 crore as well.

September 25 is just hours away. Will Kalyan end his 12-year drought for a blockbuster?