An article published by Koimoi on January 2, 2026, reported on the US box office premiere pre-sales battle between Prabhas's 'The Raja Saab' and Thalapathy Vijay's 'Jana Nayagan'. The headline claimed Prabhas was leading in premiere pre-sales, with Thalapathy Vijay needing only a '12% jump' to overtake. At the time of the article's publication, both films were slated for a January 9, 2026, worldwide release, with overseas premieres on January 8. Initial reports corroborated 'The Raja Saab' leading in gross US premiere advances, having collected $305,112 across 1,035 shows by January 1, 2026, compared to 'Jana Nayagan's' $260,512 from 446 shows. This indicated that while Prabhas's film had a higher overall collection, Vijay's film was showing strong performance per screen. Subsequently, by January 5, 'The Raja Saab' reportedly crossed $500,000 in North America pre-sales, reaching $590,000 by January 6. However, 'Jana Nayagan' quickly gained momentum, with reports on January 7 indicating it had surpassed 'The Raja Saab' in US pre-sales, grossing around $580,000 by selling 28,000 tickets across 850 shows, and achieving total North America premiere advances of $820,000. Another Koimoi article from December 31, 2025, even suggested 'Jana Nayagan' was 'overpowering' 'The Raja Saab' in premiere pre-sales. The central premise of an impending box office clash became invalid as 'Jana Nayagan' was ultimately postponed from its January 9, 2026, release date due to censorship issues, with its fate depending on a Madras High Court decision scheduled for January 20, 2026. Therefore, while the pre-sales figures cited in the Koimoi article and other reports reflected a dynamic competition at the time, the anticipated direct box office showdown did not materialize. 'The Raja Saab' was released as scheduled on January 9, 2026.