‘Dude’ Box Office Day 1: Pradeep Ranganathan’s Film Aims for Strong Opening
The romantic-comedy is generating good pre-release buzz, with advance booking collections inching closer to the ₹1 crore mark.
BoxOfficeWala, 15 October 2025 — Pradeep Ranganathan’s new film, ‘Dude’, is set for a promising start at the box office, two days ahead of its release. The romantic action-comedy has recorded decent advance booking numbers for its first day.
The pre-sales reflect a significant level of anticipation, particularly following the massive success of the actor’s previous blockbusters, Love Today (2022) and Dragon (2025).
The film, directed by debutant Keerthiswaran, is scheduled to hit theatres on October 17 across India and internationally. Trade analysts are closely monitoring the booking trends. They believe ‘Dude’ is well-positioned to become Pradeep Ranganathan’s biggest opening-day grosser to date.
Pradeep Ranganathan’s new film, ‘Dude’, Details from Advance Booking
The overall advance booking for the first day of ‘Dude’ is showing steady growth. This indicates positive momentum for the film leading up to its release. The collections are a crucial early indicator of the audience’s interest.
Dude Advance Sales Figures
As of Wednesday afternoon, the all-India advance booking collection for ‘Dude’ stands at an estimated ₹92 lakh (approximately $110K). This figure represents the net collection from ticket sales for the film’s first day.
The film has a strong chance of crossing the ₹1 crore net mark in advance sales by the time bookings close on Thursday night. This would mark a significant achievement for a film that faces competition from other regional releases.
Market Distribution
The advance booking trend shows a surprise in the performance of the film’s Telugu dubbed version. Pradeep Ranganathan’s previous film, Dragon, saw huge success in the Telugu states. This seems to be having a positive carry-over effect for ‘Dude’.
In the international market, particularly the USA, the Telugu version has currently outperformed the original Tamil version in advance sales. Out of a total US advance booking of roughly $59K (₹49 lakh), the Telugu version alone contributed over $32K (₹27 lakh). The film’s established popularity among Telugu audiences is proving to be a major factor.
Background and High Expectations
‘Dude’ is the third film for Pradeep Ranganathan as a lead actor. He transitioned from a director to a successful leading man with Love Today. That film went on to collect a lifetime domestic net of ₹66.57 crore (approx. $8 million). His subsequent release, Dragon, was an even bigger success, crossing the ₹100 crore domestic net milestone.
The current market enthusiasm for ‘Dude’ is largely attributed to this streak of success. The producers, Mythri Movie Makers, have reportedly already recovered a substantial portion of the film’s budget from non-theatrical rights.
Dude Pre-Release Business
Industry sources suggest the budget for ‘Dude’ is in the range of ₹25 crore to ₹30 crore (approx. $3–3.6 million). The film has already secured a significant deal for its post-theatrical streaming rights.
The OTT rights were reportedly acquired by streaming giant Netflix for a substantial sum of ₹25 crore (approx. $3 million). This pre-release recovery from OTT, combined with satellite and audio rights, means the film has secured profit for the producers even before its theatrical release. This is a rare and remarkable feat for a young actor’s film.
What to Expect from the Film
‘Dude’ is a romantic action-comedy co-starring Mamitha Baiju, who rose to fame with the Malayalam hit Premalu. The story follows the life of Aravind aka Dude, a confident but carefree young man whose life takes a complex turn after he falls in love.
Pradeep Ranganathan revealed that while the film has comedy, it is more emotionally grounded than his previous work. He mentioned that the film shifts into a serious emotional space much earlier than Love Today. The cast also includes veteran actor R. Sarathkumar in a pivotal role, along with Hridhu Haroon and Rohini.
What’s Next: The Diwali Clash
The film’s opening performance will be crucial as it hits screens ahead of the major Diwali festival.
Competition and Potential Milestone
‘Dude’ faces a clash at the Tamil box office with other releases like Bison: Kaalamaadan and Diesel. Despite the competition, the goodwill generated by Pradeep Ranganathan’s recent hits provides a strong advantage.
Trade pundits estimate that ‘Dude’ has a strong chance of hitting the ₹10 crore (approx. $1.2 million) net mark on its opening day in India. This would comfortably make it the biggest opening of Pradeep Ranganathan’s career. The ground buzz is currently positive and is expected to translate into strong footfall in the initial weekend.
Global Market
The performance in the USA and Gulf markets will also significantly contribute to the worldwide gross collection. The early success of the Telugu advance booking suggests the film could perform well in overseas territories with a significant Telugu diaspora. A worldwide gross collection of over ₹100 crore is an achievable long-term target, based on the current market sentiment and Pradeep’s rising star power.
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FAQs
Q. When is ‘Dude’ releasing in theatres?
A. Pradeep Ranganathan’s film ‘Dude’ is scheduled to release in theatres worldwide on October 17, 2025.
Q. What is the current advance booking collection for Day 1?
A. As of Wednesday afternoon, the estimated all-India Day 1 net advance booking for ‘Dude’ is approximately ₹92 lakh.
Q. Who is the director of the film ‘Dude’?
A. The film ‘Dude’ is directed by Keerthiswaran, who is making his directorial debut with this project.
Source: Industry estimate; trade reports; company release
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