New Delhi (CNN) It's being called Indian cinema's crowning glory.

"Baahubali 2: The Conclusion" has taken $65 million in its first five days at the box office, according to independent sales monitors

That makes it the highest-netting movie in India ever, and the film has also taken in an additional $19 million overseas and placed third in the US weekend box office

"The first day record, the weekend record, the first extended weekend record, it has broken all possible records and it will continue to break them," said Komal Nahta, an expert on the Indian movie industry.

Rise of the south

"Baahubali2 " director SS Rajamouli.

"Baahubali 2" is an epic fantasy that follows a prince who discovers his royal heritage and sets out to reclaim his kingdom. It features lavish costumes, huge sets and extensively choreographed fight scenes.

But while it might seem to have all the markers, "Baahubali 2" is not a Bollywood movie.

The movie is a production of the Southern India-based film industry centered on the Telugu language known as "Tollywood." It's being distributed in multiple other languages -- Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam and English.

"It basically carpet-bombed shows from north to south, east to west," said southern Indian film industry tracker Ramesh Bala.

The sequel has already beaten records set by the original "Baahubali," which brought in about $77 million in total.

Models take part in a fashion show to promote "Baahubali 2" in Mumbai in April.

Analysts said its dominance shows the global ascendance of the southern Indian movie industry.

There were around 830 southern Indian movies released in 2012, accounting for more than half of all films certified for release in India that year -- the most recent for which statistics are available -- according to the Film Federation of India.

With stars like action hero Rajinikanth and hits under its belt, the industry is willing to invest more in bigger and bigger productions, Bala said: "They go to Hollywood and take the technicians from LA, they're willing to spend the money."

There are also other reasons for the increasing popularity of southern movies, where there is a strong cinema-going culture and strong fan followings, according to Bala.

"It's about people appreciating India's multiple industries," he said. "People do differentiate Bollywood versus the south."

Bringing Hollywood to India

Photos: South India's vibrant hybrid cinemas Photos: South India's vibrant hybrid cinemas Anna Mallai Theater in Madurai, India (Photographed by Stefanie Zoche and Sabine Haubitz) – Cinemas that fuse Modernist and traditional Indian architecture are a beautiful reminder of the country's past. Hide Caption 1 of 12 Photos: South India's vibrant hybrid cinemas Sapthagiri in Hyderabad, India (Photographed by Stefanie Zoche and Sabine Haubitz) – Photographers Stefanie Zoche and Sabine Haubitz, captured some of South India's most stunning cinemas between 2011 and 2014. Hide Caption 2 of 12 Photos: South India's vibrant hybrid cinemas Tharangam in Karunagappally, India (Photographed by Stefanie Zoche and Sabine Haubitz) – The cinemas Zoche and Haubitz photographed were built between 1947 -- after Indian independence -- and the early 1980s. Hide Caption 3 of 12 Photos: South India's vibrant hybrid cinemas Alankar Theatre in Madurai, India (Photographed by Stefanie Zoche and Sabine Haubitz) – These theaters combine Modernist design elements and traditional Indian aesthetics. Hide Caption 4 of 12 Photos: South India's vibrant hybrid cinemas SR Theaters in Varkala, India (Photographed by Stefanie Zoche and Sabine Haubitz) – Modernism first came to India when Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first prime minister, commissioned French architect and city planner Le Corbusier to lay the master plan for the city of Chandigarh. Hide Caption 5 of 12 Photos: South India's vibrant hybrid cinemas Pankaj Theater in Alleppey, India (Photographed by Stefanie Zoche and Sabine Haubitz) – One of independent India's earliest planned cities, it was meant to establish a new type of city to bring India into the future. Hide Caption 6 of 12 Photos: South India's vibrant hybrid cinemas Jairam Theater in Salem, India (Photographed by Stefanie Zoche and Sabine Haubitz) – Chandigarh is home to Brutalist buildings and European-style piazzas. Hide Caption 7 of 12 Photos: South India's vibrant hybrid cinemas Shanti in Hyderabad, India (Photographed by Stefanie Zoche and Sabine Haubitz) – These types of urban elements were uncommon in the rest of India. Hide Caption 8 of 12 Photos: South India's vibrant hybrid cinemas New Theatres in Trivandrum, India (Photographed by Stefanie Zoche and Sabine Haubitz) – Le Corbusier's distinctive spread throughout India as local architects sought to emulate and reinterpret the foreign architectural language. Hide Caption 9 of 12 Photos: South India's vibrant hybrid cinemas Natraj in Chennai, India (Photographed by Stefanie Zoche and Sabine Haubitz) – While the buildings do contain elements of Modernism, they are not designed on the principle of form following function. Hide Caption 10 of 12 Photos: South India's vibrant hybrid cinemas Pilot in Chennai, India (Photographed by Stefanie Zoche and Sabine Haubitz) – "It is a kind of architecture influenced by modernism, but it is very hybrid because there's not the sense of form following function that modernism supplied. It's rather like a pastiche of signifiers that they use as symbols," says Zohe. Hide Caption 11 of 12 Photos: South India's vibrant hybrid cinemas Meenakchi in Thirumangalam, India (Photographed by Stefanie Zoche and Sabine Haubitz) – "Modernism is reduced to a kind of iconography to convey a certain feeling -- something special is happening here, we are modern," she says. Hide Caption 12 of 12

In the past, Indian films have been known for having cheap, low-quality special effects.

But that's starting to change. "Baahubali 2" is the most computer-graphics-intensive movie shot in India, according to film producer Shobu Yarlagadda, using about 2,500 CG shots. This made up about 85% of the movie.

Special effects don't come cheap, however. The combined budget for the two Baahubali films was $75 million.

"Everyone who's watching the film is coming out and saying that they've watched a Hollywood film," said Nahta.

At 1.8 million words and nearly 10 times the length of the "Iliad" and the "Odyssey" combined, the "Mahabharata" is the longest poem ever written.

"Randamoozham" is set to be India's most expensive film ever and another sign that its film industry is reaching new heights.