The team behind Hari Hara Veera Mallu (HHVM) took a bold step by organizing paid premiere shows across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, following a strategy similar to Pushpa 2.
While this gamble initially paid off with strong premiere collections, it also backfired significantly.
Negative feedback — particularly targeting the film’s subpar visual effects and a lackluster second half — began surfacing online even before the regular first-day morning shows started. This early wave of criticism had a swift and damaging impact on Day 1 collections.
Learning from this example, the makers of Kingdom, starring Vijay Deverakonda, have chosen to skip paid premiere shows altogether.
This decision doesn’t reflect a lack of confidence in the film. Instead, it's a strategic move to shield the project from potential targeted negativity — especially since Vijay has previously faced unwarranted online trolling from certain groups.
The team believes that allowing all audiences to experience the film simultaneously on release day will let the content speak for itself. They remain fully confident in director Gowtam Tinnanuri’s vision and hope Kingdom will replicate the success of his previous hit, Jersey.
Kingdom will begin its regular screenings at 7:30 AM in Hyderabad on release day, with no paid premieres scheduled the night before.
