Rajinikanth’s latest film, Vettaiyan, is poised for a robust opening at the Indian box office. Directed by TJ Gnanavel, the film has received mixed reviews, but this is unlikely to impact its first-day earnings significantly. All eyes are on its potential to challenge the box office records set by Rajinikanth’s previous film, Jailer.
Vettaiyan has already sold around 7.8 lakh tickets across all versions, generating approximately Rs 15.22 crore gross in advance sales, according to Sacnilk. In comparison, Jailer, released in August last year, achieved Rs 18.24 crore gross in pre-sales and opened with Rs 48.35 crore nett domestically after selling around 8.7 lakh tickets.
Given the advance booking numbers and early word-of-mouth, Vettaiyan is expected to earn between Rs 40-50 crore nett on its opening day. While it may come close to Jailer‘s first-day collection, surpassing it seems unlikely. By 1:30 PM on its release day, Vettaiyan had already earned around Rs 10 crore nett, with expectations for growth in the evening.
While breaking Jailer’s opening day record may not be crucial, matching its overall run will be a significant challenge, as Jailer ended its eight-week run with a lifetime domestic collection of Rs 348.55 crore nett. Jailer’s success was largely driven by strong word-of-mouth, which contributed to impressive weekday performances. For instance, it earned Rs 36.5 crore on its first Tuesday, surpassing its first Sunday numbers of Rs 34.3 crore, showcasing the film’s content strength—something that Vettaiyan currently appears to lack.
Ultimately, it’s still early to draw definitive conclusions. Vettaiyan could very well become a game-changer, but its first weekend performance will be key in determining its trajectory.
