With a global total of over ₹250 crores, Venkatesh's film Sankranthiki Vasthunnam emerged as the season's biggest blockbuster as sankranti 2025 came to a close. But tollywood has already turned its attention to sankranti 2026. This festival season's enormous box office receipts have solidified its position as telugu cinema's most profitable time of year.
 
January 9, 2026, has already been set as the release date for the NTR-Prashanth Neel movie. The movie starring chiranjeevi and anil ravipudi has now formally entered the competition. According to producer Sahu Garapati, the film is scheduled for a sankranti release. But festival lineups are continuously shifting, and more movies will undoubtedly be added to the lineup. With a huge hit this year, anil ravipudi has a solid sankranti record. Another big hit during sankranti 2019 was his movie F2. For him, the celebration has taken on a sentimental significance.
 
However, since 2023, chiranjeevi has not attended Sankranti. This year, he almost missed out because Vishwambhara was postponed. But this time, the creators appear committed to preventing it from occurring in 2026. The true concern, though, is whether NTR-Neel's movie can be finished in time. One year might not be sufficient given the scope of Neel's programs and the timeframe required for NTR.
 
For Anil Ravipudi, however, five months is more than enough time to finish his movie. Thus, although Chiru's film appears to be a surefire sankranti release, there are still concerns about NTR's high-profile action epic's timely release. Therefore, there is only a 50/50 probability that chiranjeevi and ntr would face off in the much-anticipated Sankranthi match.
 
 

 
 

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