8 consecutive ₹100 Crore films for ‘Thalapathy Vijay’ in Tamil Nadu..!!
For most of the actors, breaking the ₹100 Crore barrier in Tamil Nadu is a daunting task. But here is a man who has been doing it for fun for a while now. It all started with Baahubali 2 in 2017 which became the All-Time Highest Grosser by miles in the state. 6 months later, a Tamil movie made way past the ₹100 Crore mark, came close enough to displace the epic blockbuster, Baahubali 2. That movie was Mersal, when Tamil people flocked to the theatres to celebrate the reunion of Vijay & Atlee like a festival. This marked the dawn of a new-age icon among the Tamil audience, whose brand value was rising on an exponential note. Flash forward to 2024, Thalapathy Vijay has an unparalleled ₹100 Crore streak in his home state that stretches to ‘eight’ consecutive movies. He hasn’t missed the mark not once, not even during the Covid period. The most obvious question will be, is he the biggest superstar of our time.?
As yet, 18 movies have done business above ₹100 Crore in Tamil Nadu Box-Office, out of which 8 belongs to Vijay, 3 belongs to Rajnikanth, 2 Ajith movies and 1 Kamal Haasan movie. The Tamil epic Ponniyin Selvan franchise, Baahubali 2 & KGF 2 are the other movies in this coveted list. Thalapathy Vijay never really had to look back after the 2017 blockbuster. Mersal also became his first movie to earn over $10 Million from the overseas markets.
His popularity increased multifold, enjoying immense stardom among general audience. Finally, Thalapathy Vijay turned out to be that ‘Minimum Guarantee’ star who can bring audience to the theatres irrespective of a movie’s quality. A fair share of credit also goes to his association with the top directors and other technicians including the music directors. He chose his projects wisely and that proved pivotal in his phenomenal rise to stardom. Post Mersal, he immediately associated with A.R.Murugadoss for Sarkar. The news of the hit combo returning, generated a huge buzz as both their previous movies were commercially successful in every markets. Despite negative reviews, the film opened to colossal numbers in many areas including Tamil Nadu & Kerala in 2018. In the midst of political controversies, the movie finished slightly below Mersal in Tamil Nadu. The overseas business of the movie was marginally short of $10 Million.
Immediately after Sarkar, he reunited with Atlee for their third film. Vijay in a sports-based action drama that talks about women empowerment was the promotional strategy about Bigil. A few drew parallels with the 2007 SRK film Chak De India before release. The film that was released in 2019, went on to become the first ₹300 Crore grosser for the actor globally. In Tamil Nadu, the film fell slightly short of becoming the All-Time record holder in the state which was Baahubali 2 at that time. Notably, A R Rahman was the music director of these three movies. The music played an important role in building hype around his movies. So, it is safe to assume that Vijay was aware about the Box-Office performance of his films and always believed in associating with a big name to handle the music department.
Another interesting part was that Bigil received strong challenge from Lokesh Kanakaraj directorial Kaithi that collected above ₹50 Crore in the home state. It was not surprising that Vijay decided to collaborate with Lokesh for his next project. Additionally, Anirudh Ravichander was brought as the music director of Master after Kaththi. This proved to be a huge boost for the film as the songs started to trend worldwide way before the release of the film. Despite Covid pandemic, the makers decided to release the movie in theatres which was a sign of relief for the theatre owners. Master was played in 50% occupancy in theatres and performed above all expectations to secure above ₹140 Crore in Tamil Nadu. This was the film that literally revived the theatre industry and brought the trade back to normal during the second wave of Covid-19 in 2021 January.
His next outing was Beast with Nelson Dilipkumar, probably an intentional choice since the latter directed the 2021 Blockbuster Doctor. The music was an instant hit and the promotional materials grabbed everyone’s attention as Vijay was seen in a never-before-seen avatar, playing a menacing RAW agent. When Beast was released in 2022, it had to clash with one of the most anticipated films, KGF 2. Vijay arrived a day earlier at the Box-Office to mostly poor reviews but set a new opening day record in the state which remains untouched to date. Beast had a gargantuan opening week while KGF 2 had a long run and in the end, the former narrowly edged past the latter in the final run at Tamil Nadu Box-Office. This film was a testament to the immense fame Thalapathy Vijay was enjoying among the general audience as his movies promised minimum level of entertainment and assured business at the Box-Office irrespective of the reviews.
He signed with a Telugu director & producer as his immediate next after Beast. In an alien market for the director and producer, it could be said with certainty that Varisu was mounted on the brand called Thalapathy Vijay. There were speculations surrounding the nativity of the film prior to release. But contrary to all expectations, the film yielded desired results to become his second highest grosser at the Tamil Nadu Box-office. Audience celebrated this festival entertainer that presented Vijay in several dance numbers. Varisu clashed with Thunivu and emerged victorious in the 2023 Pongal race, although the later turned to be Ajith’s second highest grosser in the state. The combined total of both the films is above ₹260 Crore in Tamil Nadu.
Thalapathy 67 was arguably the biggest announcement in Tamil Cinema. Industry insiders and many in the trade circles believed that Vijay has committed to his biggest project yet. He was associating for the second time with Lokesh Kanakaraj who delivered an All-Time record grosser in Tamil Nadu with Vikram. As soon as the announcement about the project came, it was rumored to be a part of LCU and that sparked a social media frenzy. Upon release, Leo shattered several records and some of them will be really difficult to break in the near future. The film went on to become the All-Time highest grosser in Tamil Nadu, collecting roughly ₹232 Crore from the state alone. Furthermore, Leo is currently the highest grossing Tamil movie globally. Finally, 2023 proved to be a golden year for Vijay as he had two successful films in the year, one of which became an All-Time record grosser in Tamil Nadu.
Soon after Leo, Vijay decided to drop the biggest news in his career, announcing his political party Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK). He added that he was quitting cinema after two more movies, which left the entire Tamil fandom shell-shocked. The Greatest of All Time, directed by Venkat Prabhu would be his penultimate movie and is already the highest grosser of 2024 in just 3 days. Moreover, the film has entered the coveted list of ₹100 Crore in Tamil Nadu in just 4 days, making his eighth straight movie to do so. Thalapathy 69 directed by H.Vinoth probably would be his last movie in a full-fledged role as a lead actor. And this ₹100 Crore streak, in all likelihood will be extended to 9 movies. It is hard to imagine, how the Box-Office would cope with his apparent retirement from movies. But it is definite that Tamil Cinema Industry will witness a huge void in the absence of Thalapathy Vijay.
Compiled By Jayaram Gopalakrishnan