PremiumDhanush's Captain Miller vs Sivakarthikeyan's Ayalaan at box office: Who is the Pongal winner?
Dhanush's Captain Miller and Sivakarthikeyan's Ayalaan achieved significant success, although they fell short of being groundbreaking at the box office.
Last Updated: 08.26 PM, Jan 16, 2024
The Pongal releases last week brought much-needed cheers to the box office in Tamil Nadu, which has been grappling with a drought-like situation since December. Tamil superstars Dhanush's Captain Miller and Sivakarthikeyan's Ayalaan were well received at the box office by their intended audiences.
While Captain Miller was meant to appeal to the cinephiles who crave for high art and nuances in storytelling and acting, Ayalaan was designed to draw family audiences to theatres. Ayalaan was promoted as a movie that the kids will enjoy during the holiday season. Both films achieved significant success, although they fell short of being groundbreaking at the box office.
Tamil box office missed Thala-Thalapathy this Pongal
Unlike last Pongal, which saw the release of Thalapathy Vijay's Varisu and Ajith Kumar's Thunivu, there was not a massive influx of crowds into cinemas across Tamil Nadu for this year's releases. However, despite this, the films of this Pongal season—namely, the emotionally charged Captain Miller and the experimental science-fiction drama Ayalaan—have showcased a commendable performance at the box office.
Surprisingly, the latest Telugu movie HanuMan, a superhero movie inspired by Indian mythology, also resonated with the audiences this Pongal in Tamil Nadu. The film has outperformed the other two new Tamil releases, namely, Mission Chapter 1 and Merry Christmas, marking a notable success in the state.
How new Pongal releases performed at box office
Among all new Tamil releases for this Pongal, Captain Miller took a huge opening worldwide. Starring Dhanush as a dangerous outlaw in the narrative set against the British Raj, the film is written and directed by Arun Matheswaran.
Captain Miller debuted at the Tamil Nadu box office by raking in more than Rs 6 crore. Its steady performance continued throughout the extended opening weekend, extending until Monday. According to Cinetrak, the film has amassed an impressive gross of approximately Rs 22.75 crore in the state alone.
In the meantime, Meanwhile, Ayalaan had a modest opening, somewhat overshadowed by Captain Miller. However, with mostly favourable reviews and strong word of mouth, the movie kept growing in terms of footfalls, reaching its peak collection on Monday. "Kids & Families Enjoying #Ayaalan in #Vettri. Everyday increment in BO collections , hitting its peak today in all our centres . Just realised , for an Indian movie, the alien VFX is seamless . Brilliant work with the eyes and shadows," tweeted Rakesh Gowthaman of Tamil Nadu's popular cinema chain Vettri Theatres.
According to reports, Ayalaan has raked in about Rs 22 crore from its ticket sales in Tamil Nadu.
How Ayaalan and Captain Miller will continue to perform in the coming days will help us clearly determine the Pongal winner between the two.