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Thunivu & Varisu Opening Day Box Office Trends: Ajith & Vijay score a combined India gross of Rs 50 crore plus
According to very early reports, Ajith Kumar's Thunivu has scored a marginal lead over Thalapathy Vijay's Varisu at the box office in Tamil Nadu. Read detailed opening day collection report
It was a carnival across cinema halls in Tamil Nadu as two of the biggest crowd pullers of Kollywood – Ajith Kumar & Thalapathy Vijay – arrived with their respective films, Thunivu and Varisu. It was celebrations on the streets right from the mid-night with fans waiting to see their superstar on the big screen. While Thunivu had shows starting from 1 am, Varisu had it’s premiere in the state at 4.30 am. And as expected, both Thunivu and Varisu have taken a bumper start at the box office in Tamil Nadu.
Thunivu and Varisu take a bumper opening at box office
The two films clocked an occupancy in the range of 85 to 90 percent throughout the day, and showed no signs of slowing down at the ticket window on the opening day. Such was the hype around the two films, that they recorded houseful shows across the state in advance. In Tamil Nadu, it was Ajith Kumar’s Thunivu that got a marginal lead over Thalapathy Vijay’s Varisu. According to early box office trends, Thunivu is headed for an opening day gross in the range of Rs 18.50 to 20.50 crore, and Varisu on the other hand has clocked a state gross in the vicinity of Rs 17 to 19 crore. It’s a nominal difference between the two films, and this has primarily come because Thunivu has managed to get better screens than Varisu.
Producers, Boney Kapoor, Zee Studios with distributors, Red Giant Films ensured that Thunivu get’s premium screens across the state. The number of cinemas and shows for both Varisu and Thunivu are not too apart but Thunivu has managed to get better collecting cinemas and bigger screens by seating, building a bigger capacity than Varisu. Both the films ran neck to neck in Tamil Nadu on occupancy front, and it’s the capacity that has played a role in deciding the winner, so kudos to the Thunivu team on ensuring a premium release for their product.
The combined Tamil Nadu total for the two films is in the range of Rs 35 to 40 crore, depending on where the final figures land in the morning. It’s a huge day for Kollywood and the good news also lies in the fact that the festive season in the state actually begins from Friday, which would give both the films longer than usual legs at the box office. The advances for the days to come by are also promising and the same should push both the films towards a black at the finish line. Thursday and Friday will play a crucial role in deciding the showcasing for Saturday and Sunday.
Varisu and Thunivu run clock a Rs 54 crore day
Outside of Tamil Nadu too, both Thunivu and Varisu were equivalent at the box office. However, in this case, it’s Varisu that has got a slight lead over Thunivu. According to estimates, Varisu is headed to collecting in the range of Rs 8.50 crore to 9.00 crore outside of Tamil Nadu and Thunivu on the other hand is looking to fall in the range of Rs 8.00 to 8.50 crore. It’s again up for anyone to win depending on where the figures from the smaller centres land in the morning. The All India Gross for both the films will be in the range of Rs 27 crore, which takes the combined full day total to approximately Rs 54 crore. This figure has come despite no Telugu dubbed release of Thalapathy Vijay’s Varisu.
Thunivu has emerged one of the biggest openers for Ajith Kumar outside of Tamil Nadu, and without a clash, a career best opening for AK was definitely on cards as the trailer had spiked excitement not just in the fans, but also the audience outside of TN. In the overseas belt too, Thunivu has opened much above what Ajith Kumar films generally do, and it’s actually an indication of his box office stamina. The opening of Thunivu and Varisu have yet again spoken volumes about the loyal fan-following commanded by both Vijay and Ajith. The two names from Tamil Nadu deservingly justify the term ‘Superstar’.
The Pongal 2023 festival yet again solidifies the fact that top tier in Tamil Cinema has four members – Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, Ajith Kumar and Thalapathy Vijay (in any order). Pongal is a huge period for the box office in Tamil Nadu. In 2019, the clash between Rajinikanth’s Petta and Ajith’s Viswasam yielded over Rs. 230 crores at the Tamil Nadu box office, which was more than 50 per cent higher than the then-biggest grosser in the state Baahubali 2. In fact, the combined sum of Petta and Viswasam even exceeds the current biggest grosser Ponniyin Selvan. The hope here will be that both films get good reception and combined box office of the two probably go as high as Rs. 300 crores. Stay tuned to Pinkvilla for more updates.
