(Image source from: twitter.com/AnnapurnaStdios)

After the postponement of RRR and Radhe Shyam due to the rise in the coronavirus because of Omicron variant, films like Bangarraju, Rowdy Boys, Super Machi and Hero released during the Sankranthi weekend on January 14th and 15th respectively. Nagarjuna and Naga Chaitanya starter Bangarraju had a super strong weekend and the film dominated all the releases. Bangarraju ran with packed houses all over and the film is declared as the first hit of the year. Rowdy Boys and Hero reported decent numbers over the weekend but they are not satisfactory as both these films are made on huge budgets.

Bangarraju had decent entertainment, songs and passable narration which made the film a winner. Nagarjuna and Naga Chaitanya are the crowd pullers of the film and the film reportedly collected a theatrical share of Rs 20 crores over the first weekend. Bangarraju has to stand strong during the weekdays to recover the investments. Kalyan Krishna directed Bangarraju and Ramya Krishna, Krithi Shetty are the heroines. Rowdy Boys marks the debut of Dil Raju's nephew Ashish Reddy to Telugu cinema. His performance is widely appreciated while the film received a mixed response from the audience.

Superstar Krishna's grandson Ashok Galla made his debut with Hero and the film received a poor response. Megastar Chiranjeevi's son-in-law Kalyaan Dhev's second film Super Machi released on January 14th and the film performed badly and has been declared as a dud. On the whole, Bangarraju won the Sankranthi 2022 race by miles.