'Thug Life' sees sharp drop; collects ₹23cr in two days
What's the story
The much-anticipated film Thug Life, starring Kamal Haasan and directed by Mani Ratnam, has witnessed a significant decline in its box office collections on the second day.
The film earned ₹7.50cr across all languages on Friday, marking a steep 55% drop from its opening day figure of ₹15.50cr, per Sacnilk.
This brings its two-day total to ₹23cr in India.
Regional performance
Film's performance affected by 'Housefull 5'
The film's performance in the Hindi-speaking regions was also affected by the release of Housefull 5.
Despite being marketed as a pan-India film, Thug Life opened its Hindi business at a meager ₹65L.
Trade experts estimate that the number for day 2 is between ₹25-30L, per HT.
In Tamil Nadu, it had an overall occupancy of 31.41% on Friday, with Chennai recording a high of 59% for night shows.
Box office comparison
'Thug Life' lags behind 'Vikram' and 'Indian 2'
Thug Life's two-day collection of ₹23cr is significantly lower than Haasan's last hit, Vikram.
The Lokesh Kanagaraj film had earned ₹60cr net in its first two days upon release in 2022.
Even Indian 2, which was a box office disappointment released last year, fared better with ₹44cr net in its first two days.
Thug Life stars Trisha, Silambarasan, Joju George, Ali Fazal, and Nasser.
The music is by AR Rahman, while the cinematography is handled by Ravi K Chandran.
Film details
The film is also facing issues in Karnataka
The film has also been affected by a non-release in Karnataka following Haasan's controversial remark on the Kannada language.
At a promotional event, he had said, "Uyire Urave Tamizhe," meaning, "My life and my family is Tamil language."
Addressing Kannada actor Shivarajkumar, Haasan added, "Actor Shivarajkumar is my family living in another state...Your language was born out of Tamil. So, you are included in that line."