Ram Charan’s sports drama Peddi has become the highest-grossing South Indian film of 2026 so far, overtaking Suriya’s Karuppu. In its second week, the film has reached ₹366 crore worldwide in nine days, according to trade figures compiled on June 13, 2026. That puts it ahead of other big 2026 releases including Drishyam 3 and The Raja Saab, and marks a significant result for Ram Charan’s drawing power across markets.
Three sports, one story
Directed by Buchi Babu Sana, Peddi steps away from the standard mass template. It follows a grassroots athlete — played by Ram Charan — on a journey toward identity, self-respect and community pride, and rather than sticking to a single sport, the script folds cricket, wrestling and track athletics into a larger social and political conflict.
The film leans on a cast drawn from several industries. Kannada star Shiva Rajkumar plays a substantial dramatic role, and Janhvi Kapoor is the female lead. A big part of the early momentum came from the soundtrack and score by A.R. Rahman, whose folk-tinged stadium anthems became a talking point and drove repeat viewings.
The film it overtook
Karuppu had set the year’s benchmark. Released in mid-May under Dream Warrior Pictures, the Suriya film grossed ₹340 crore with its modern spin on the folklore around Lord Karuppusamy taking on a corrupt legal system. It was directed by RJ Balaji, who also co-starred, alongside Trisha Krishnan, Indrans and Anagha Maya Ravi, with music by Sai Abhyankkar.
What ultimately pushed Peddi past it was reach. The film went out widely across Telugu, Tamil and Hindi markets, and after some early online noise about script adjustments, the box office numbers settled the conversation. With theatres across Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka adding shows for the second weekend, Peddi has established itself as one of the year’s biggest South Indian releases.
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