After RGV calls Game Changer’s collections ‘fraudulent’, trade insiders also raise questions on box office

New Delhi: The much-awaited Shankar directorial ‘Game Changer’ starring Ram Charan released in theaters on January 10, coinciding with the Sankranthi holiday week. The film had a very successful first weekend, yet many are still debating the exact figures. Even though the film’s producers insist that it had the fourth-best opening weekend in the history of Indian cinema, audiences are beginning to question these claims.

On its opening day, the film’s official social media pages boasted of its “blockbuster opening” and proudly reported earnings of Rs 186 crore globally. Yet, trade sources such as well-known trade tracker Sacknilk immediately cast doubt on the figure. Multiple industry sources have confirmed to HT that, all things considered, Game Changer’s global first-day earnings were less than Rs 100 crore.

Criticism of Ram Gopal Varma

Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma criticized the exaggerated estimates on social media, adding fuel to the fire. In a series of online comments, RGV termed the claimed figures as “fraudulent” and accused the film’s crew of tarnishing the reputation of South Indian cinema. He said, “If @ssrajamouli and @SukumarWritings took Telugu cinema to stratospheric heights of fantasy in a real-time collection that caused legitimate shock in Bollywood, then the people behind GC have succeeded in proving that South It’s so much more fun to be a fraud.”

Trade insiders agree with Ram Gopal Varma’s criticism

Film industry experts from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana agree with Varma, with a distributor calling the claim of daily inflation of Rs 100 crore “crazy” and saying it hurts the company’s reputation. “This is gross inflation of ₹100 crore a day, and it is madness. It damages the credibility of the business,” a source was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.

According to film trade expert Ramesh Bala, “I think this time they have gone too far.” He pointed out that although it is common to exaggerate box office receipts, this was taken to extremes.