Nani's new release ‘The Paradise’ has become the highest-grossing film of his career, even after landing with a lukewarm critical reception. The Srikanth Odela-directed drama, which opened with paid previews on Wednesday before its Thursday release, has now crossed the ₹100-crore mark worldwide in three days.

The makers put the number at ₹136 crore gross worldwide, celebrating the milestone as a career-best opening weekend for the actor. Trade estimates tell a slightly more conservative story, sources and the trade tracker Sacnilk peg the collection closer to ₹119–120 crore worldwide, with roughly ₹76 crore of that coming from domestic net collections. Either figure is enough to make it Nani's biggest earner to date.

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What's notable is the trajectory, after a steep dip of over 50% on its second day, the film bounced back with modest growth on day three, suggesting word of mouth may be stabilizing its run rather than sinking it further.

With this haul, ‘The Paradise’ has already overtaken the lifetime totals of ‘HIT: The Third Case’ and Odela's own directorial debut ‘Dasara’, and is closing in on Sekhar Kammula's ‘Kuberaa’.

Set in 1980s fictional Paradise, the film follows a tribe called Savaari fighting for legal recognition, with Nani playing a man who initially resists his mother's cause before joining her fight. The cast also includes Mohan Babu, Kayadu Lohar, Sonali Kulkarni and Raghav Juyal.

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Nani himself addressed the mixed reception head-on on social media, saying he'd taken in both the criticism and the "hilarious trolls" in equal measure, while also making time to celebrate the film's success with a special screening for Rapido drivers.