The festivities erupted throughout Tamil Nadu’s cinemas as Ajith Kumar and Thalapathy Vijay, two of Kollywood’s biggest crowd drawers, arrived with their respective films, Thunivu and Varisu. They celebrated in the streets starting at midnight with fans waiting to see their superstar on the big screen. Thunivu started the show at 1:00 am, but Varisu premiered in the state at 4:30 am. And as expected, both Thunivu and Varisu got off to a smooth start at the box office in Tamil Nadu.
Thunivu and Varisu take the bumper opening at the box office:
The two films recorded 85-90% occupancy throughout the day, and showed no sign of slowing down at the box office on the day of release. The hype around the two films had house full shows taped across the state ahead of time. In Tamil Nadu, Ajith Kumar’s Thunivu edged out Thalapathy Vijay’s Varisu. Early box office trends suggest that Thunivu is heading for an opening day gross in the range of Rs 18.50 to 20.50 crore while Varisu on the other hand has a week cap in the vicinity of Rs 17 to 19 crore. It is a nominal difference between the two films, and this was primarily due to Thunivu being able to get a better screen than Varisu.
Producer, Boney Kapoor, and distributor Zee Studios, Red Giant Films, secured Thunivu’s premium screens across the state. Although the number of cinemas and shows in Varisu and Thunivu are not very different, Thunivu has been able to build a larger capacity than Varisu, resulting in better cinemas and larger screens per seat. Both films went head to head in Tamil Nadu on the occupancy front and it is capacity that played a role in determining the winner, so we commend the Thunivu team for ensuring a premium launch for their product.
The combined Tamil Nadu gross for both films ranges from Rs 35 to 40 crore depending on where the final figure arrives in the morning. It’s a big day for Kollywood and the good news is also in the fact that the state’s festive season actually starts on Friday. Developments in the days to come are also promising and should push both films to the black at the finish line. Thursday and Friday will play a major role in determining Saturday and Sunday’s showcase.
Varisu and Thunivu earn Rs 54 crore on day one:
Even outside of Tamil Nadu, Thunivu and Varisu were equal at the box office. However, it is Varisu who is slightly ahead of Thunivu in this case. Estimates suggest that Varisu will collect in the range of Rs 8.50 crore to 9.00 crore outside Tamil Nadu while Thunivu will be in the range of Rs 8.00 to 8.50 crore. Anyone can win, depending on where the smaller center figure lands in the morning. All India Gross for both films is in the range of Rs 27 crore, making the daily total around Rs 54 crore. This figure came despite the absence of a Telugu dub release for Thalapathy Vijay’s Varisu.
Thunivu emerged as one of Ajith Kumar’s biggest openers outside of Tamil Nadu, and without a bump, AK’s career-best opening was definitely on the cards, as the trailer generated excitement not only for fans, but also for audiences outside TN. . Even in the overseas belt, Thunivu has opened much more than Ajith Kumar films usually do and really represents his box office stamina. The opening of Thunivu and Varisu once again had a lot to say about the loyal fan following led by Vijay and Ajith. Tamil Nadu’s two names justify the term ‘superstar’.
Pongal 2023 festival once again confirms that there are four members in the top tier of Tamil cinema: Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, Ajith Kumar and Thalapathy Vijay (in any order). Pongal is a huge period at the box office in Tamil Nadu. The 2019 clash between Rajinikanth’s Petta and Ajith’s Viswasam crossed Rs. 230 crores at the box office in Tamil Nadu, which was more than 50% higher than the then biggest grosser in 2 weeks of Baahubali. In fact, Petta and Viswasam’s combined total currently exceeds Ponniyin Selvan, who is the biggest earner. The hope here is that both films will get a good response and the combined box office of both films will probably go up to Rs. 300 million. Stay tuned to Pinkvilla for more updates.
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