The Rebel Star momentum has hit a bit of a speedbump. After the huge world-building work on Salaar and Kalki 2898 AD, Prabhas’s latest flick, The Raja Saab, is making a hasty exit from the theaters. The horror-comedy is officially getting a February 6, 2026 premier on JioHotstar, just a few weeks after its January 9 release—and a whole 4 weeks sooner than anyone could have anticipated.
The box office numbers are not looking great. Despite all the hype, the film is leaving distributors with a massive financial hole—an estimated ₹160 - ₹170 crore. So, what exactly went wrong for the "Maruthi magic" to fail?
From a small "quickie" to a ₹400 crore budget:
This one had an odd journey. It all started life as Raja Deluxe, a pretty low-budget (₹50 crore) project that Prabhas got involved in to help People Media Factory get back on their feet after the disaster of Adipurush.
But what was meant to be a snappy 3-month shoot turned into a three-year production nightmare. There were major VFX re-writes to deal with and the script got all over the shop—starting out as a psychological thriller and ending up a slapstick comedy. That all added up to a ₹400 crore budget—eye-watering to say the least.
Prabhas’s ₹100 crore concession
To try and keep the project afloat, Prabhas did what many Hollywood stars do: take a pay cut. He landed ₹100 crore in his pocket—still a massive number, but a 33% drop from what he’d normally get (₹150 crore) to ensure that the quality of the film didn’t suffer.
Unfortunately, even with a big budget and Prabhas’s financial sacrifice, the end result was a bit of a mess. Disappointed fans who were still on a high after Kalki were left scratching their heads over the film's odd tone and cringe-worthy "face-swap" VFX that the trolls had a field day with.
A reality check: How OTT platforms really work
The film's deal with JioHotstar is reportedly worth ₹160 crore. Not bad, but it's a far cry from the OTT record-breaker Kalki managed to pull in (₹375 crore). It's clear that a superstar’s name might get you a massive opening, but it can't save a project that goes off the rails mid-production.