"Look at the kind of opening that 'SPYder' got. It made 1 million USD with premieres alone. With due respect to a lot of Bollywood actors, I think Mahesh Babu is leagues ahead of the Khans (Aamir, Salman, Shah Rukh) in the US market," respected trade analyst Taran Adarsh tells IndiaGlitz on the popular Red Carpet show.

The analyst is betting big on South Indian movies. Talking highly of 'Baahubali-2', which made at least 8 million USD more than 'Dangal' in North America, Taran says that Rajinikanth's '2.0' could shatter all records when it releases in 2018.

He is counting on the stamina of South Indian stars like Rajini, Mahesh and Rana Daggubati, who has announced a multi-lingual project with Prabhu Solomon (titled 'Haathi Mere Saathi', it's a film on elephant conservation).

"2018 could have greater stories to tell," Taran says.

We wager that the first big story is going to be Pawan Kalyan's 'Agnyaathavaasi', which is gearing up for a massive release in the US.