'Coolie' struggles on 1st Monday, raises doubts
What's the story
Rajinikanth's latest film, Coolie, has crossed the ₹400cr mark globally in just four days. However, its first Monday earnings have raised doubts about its potential to surpass Vijay's Leo and Rajinikanth's own Jailer at the global box office. The film is directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj and aims for the ₹500cr mark within its opening week.
Earnings dip
'Coolie' vs 'Jailer' and 'Leo'
On its first Monday, Coolie's earnings in India fell drastically by 65.53% compared to Sunday, reported Sacnilk. The film earned around ₹12cr net on Monday, bringing its domestic total to ₹206.67cr. This is significantly lower than Jailer and Leo's first Monday earnings of ₹23.55cr and ₹24cr respectively and even newer releases like Chhaava and Saiyaara which earned ₹24cr each on their first Monday.
Record potential
Potential to challenge or breach ₹1,000cr global mark
Among Rajinikanth's biggest career milestones, only 2.0 (2018), which pulled in close to ₹700cr worldwide, currently stands ahead of Coolie in lifetime earnings. But trade circles suggest that if the movie maintains its pace, Coolie could realistically challenge or even breach the elusive ₹1,000cr global mark. Such a figure has never before been achieved by a Tamil release.
Box office comparison
Can 'Coolie' beat these films?
Rajinikanth's Jailer ended its run with a global collection of ₹606cr, while Vijay's Leo finished at ₹605cr. 2.0 remains the highest-grossing Tamil movie ever, but Coolie's early success has led to speculation that it could be the one to break this record. Despite the drop in earnings, the film maintained a decent presence in theaters with Tamil Nadu recording an overall occupancy of 32.18% on Monday. Meanwhile, Coolie features an ensemble cast including Nagarjuna Akkineni, Shruti Haasan, and Aamir Khan.