Tamil Nadu’s actor Ajith Kumar once again proving why he is rated as No 1

Key Takeaways:

• It is estimated that H Vinoth’s action thriller Thunivu made Rs 26 crore in India on its opening day, trailing Varisu by just Rs 50 lakh.
• Critics have given Thunivu, which also stars Manju Warrier and Samuthirakani, varying ratings.

Amid Pongal celebrations, two big Tamil language releases competed for screen time at the box office on Wednesday. 

Varisu, a family comedy starring Thalapathy Vijay, narrowly defeated Thunivu, a thriller starring Thala Ajith, but both movies performed remarkably well, bringing success to Indian cinema as a whole. 

The action-thriller Thunivu, directed by H Vinoth, is believed to have made Rs 26 crore in India on its opening day, trailing Varisu by only Rs 50 lakh.

However, Thunivu made more money in the Tamil Nadu region, according to industry data tracker Sacnilk. Thunivu reportedly made Rs 18 crore, while Varisu made about Rs 17 crore at home. 

In Karnataka, it increased by Rs 3.5 crore, in the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana region by Rs 2.5–3 crore, in Kerala by Rs 1.5 crore, but only by Rs 50 lakh throughout the rest of India.

South Indian films, particularly those in the Telugu language, have become popular in recent years. KGF: Chapter 2 and Kantara, two movies in the Kannada language, were huge successes last year. 

Along with Bollywood, Tamil cinema, which once featured some of the biggest stars in the nation, appears to have lost its lustre. With Beast and Valimai, respectively, Vijay and Ajith have experienced critical and box office failures.

And if Thunivu’s opening day box office results are any indication, every major South Indian film still has a long way to go before it becomes well-known in the north. 

For instance, on the first day, the National Capital Region could only muster 30% occupancy for the movie.

But it appears that the local audience liked it. From around 61% in the morning to 82% for the evening performances, the average occupancy for the Tamil version increased. 

Chennai had a daytime occupancy average of 98.25%, while Pondicherry had a first-day occupancy of 99.5%.

Thunivu, which also features Manju Warrier and Samuthirakani, has drawn mixed reviews from critics. 

It received three out of five stars from Kirhubhakar Purushothaman of The Indian Express, who also stated in his review that “the style and also the mystery of the first half quickly fizzle out post-intermission, and the film starts telling one sob story after another, which is inconsistent with the cold as well as dark nature of the film.”