Vijay-starrer ‘Varisu’ leads the box office race

NEW DELHI: Actor Vijay’s Tamil film Varisu is leading the box office race, having made ₹108 crore at last count, according to trade website Box Office India. The other Tamil film that had released alongside, Ajith-starrer Thunivu had earned ₹80.25 crore domestically.

The latter, however, had earned nearly ₹2 crore more than Varisu on opening day last week.

Tamil cinema, for which Pongal is usually the biggest weekend of the year, was up for a clash of the titans with two big films--Varisu starring Vijay and Thunivu starring Ajith--releasing in cinemas and both stars running neck and neck for eyeballs and screens. The state was to have an extended weekend, running into holidays the coming week with ample opportunities for the business.

Telugu cinema, too, had two star films scheduled for the festival: Chiranjeevi’s Waltair Veerayya and Balakrishna’s Veera Simha Reddy. The only dampener was the absence of a big Hindi movie title, though theatres were expecting the dubbed versions of the southern films to manage some returns.

“The Pongal weekend is an auspicious occasion to kickstart theatrical film releases in 2023 and is anticipated to see a strong run this year. The two Tamil films led by superstars Ajith and Vijay go neck-and-neck over the weekend after a gap of nine years. While both actors command a large fan following, it is a welcome sign that the weekend will see films with a diverse audience profile, targeting segments that are not entirely similar for both films and leading actors. The fight is on even keel and much anticipated. However, with both movies being high-action, potential blockbusters, the festive timing of their release is likely to play a key role with high chances of clamour for screens most specifically in cinemas across the southern states,“ Ashish Saksena, chief operating officer, cinemas, BookMyShow had said in an earlier interview.