The pre-booking of Rajinikanth’s Vettaiyan, set to release on October 10, looks promising despite the underwhelming promotion from Lyca Productions. The film’s trailer also didn’t create the hype everyone was awaiting to witness as the film brings together Rajinikanth and his mentor Amitabh Bachchan after a gap of 33 years (the two last acted in the 1991 film Hum). That left us with the question of whether Vettaiyan would match the box office collection of Jailer, which reinforced Rajinikanth’s position as Superstar in Tamil cinema. As a result, News18 Showsha reached out to some of the experts in the industry to check if Vettaiyan would set a new record and become welcome news for the Superstar, who is currently recovering post a major heart surgery.
Despite the relatively low buzz for the film, Tirupur Subramaniam, the former Tamil Nadu Theatre Owners’ Association President and theatre owner, is very confident that Vettaiyan will break the record of Jailer. Speaking to the media at the opening ceremony of a new theatre in Tirupur, the veteran, known for his bold criticism of stars, said, “I am sure the Vettaiyan collection will beat Jailer because Rajinikanth continues to look stylish and young. He is like a horse and would recover immediately after falling. So no need to worry about his health.”
However, other trade experts don’t share his optimism about Vettaiya. Film trade analyst Raja Shekar says, “When you compare it with Jailer, the buzz for Vettaiya is a bit less. Sun Pictures produced Jailer, so it was marketed heavily. So, Vettaiyan will not have the same opening as Jailer. It doesn’t mean Vettaiyan will not do well. The ticket booking so far has been excellent. The opening day collection alone might not be on par with Jailer.”
The worldwide opening day collection of Jailer is estimated to be around Rs 80 crore. Shekar opines that Vettaiyan could collect Rs 70 crore, falling short of around Rs 10 crore. “That’s because the pre-booking for Jailer was good across the board, but with Vettaiyan, the booking in Tamil Nadu is excellent. It is doing better pre-release business in the US than Jailer. However, the upcoming film does not have much traction in other states and Gulf countries. So, I estimate it to collect Rs 10 crore to Rs 15 crore less than what Jailer did on Day 1.”
“The trailer of Vettaiyan turned out to be mellow. Same with Anirudh Ravichander’s score for the trailer. That’s the main reason behind the low buzz. It is directed by TJ Gnanavel, who made Jai Bhim. So, it might be more of his film than Rajinikanth’s movie. It might be like 50 per cent of Jailer and 50 per cent of Jai Bhim. So, I expect it to do as much as Jailer, or a little less than that. On the other hand, I have a lot of hopes for Coolie, Rajini’s next film. It will do better, I feel. As far as Vettaiyan is concerned, it will do good in Tamil Nadu, but might not have the same impact Jailer had on other states and in the North.”
By the looks of it, Rs 100 crore on Day 1 seems hard for Vettaiyan. It has to be noted, Vijay’s The Greatest of All Time was said to have collected Rs 126.32 crore, which is the highest opening day collection for a Tamil film in 2024, which is turning out to be an average year for the industry.
Directed by TJ Gnanavel, Vettaiyan has Rajinikanth playing a police officer with a penchant for extrajudicial killing, who is opposed by Amitabh Bachchan’s character. Ritika Singh, Dhushara, Fahadh Faasil, Rana Daggubati, and Manju Warrier are other actors in the film.
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