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Our Correspondent
Bengaluru, Jan. 12 (EMN): Ajith Kumar-starrer “Thunivu” has beaten Vijay's “Varisu” at the Tamil Nadu box office on day 1 despite not receiving good rating from critics.
Released in over 425 screens on Wednesday, “Thunivu” had attracted better pre-release response from the public than “Varisu” with its trailer creating hype. The result was seen at the box office on the opening day of the movies.
Considering the pre-release hype, multiplexes and single screens in Tamil Nadu had divided the screens between the two movies. The advance booking clearly indicated that “Thunivu” could enjoy a better opening than “Varisu”.
As per the trade trackers, “Thunivu” has earned around Rs 23 crore on day one (Jan. 11) at the Tamil Nadu box office, while “Varisu” collected around Rs 20 crore. However, both the movies have failed to create new records at the box office for the opening day collection.
Ajith's movie “Valimai” is the top opener at Tamil Nadu box office, minting Rs 34 crore on the first day. It may be noted that it was released on a non-holiday yet performed well.
Vijay's “Sarkar” is in the second place, earning Rs 31.5 crore on the opening day. The three other top opening grosser films “Beast” - Rs 26 crore, “Bigil” - Rs 25.6 crore, and “Mersal” - Rs 24.5 crore were also Vijay’s movies.
As per the trade trackers, the collection of both “Thunivu” and “Varisu” witnessed a big drop today as it is a working day. However, they were of the opinion that business might pick up from Saturday.
It may be mentioned that “Thunivu” received mixed reviews from critics with many hailing Ajith’s performance, while others expressed unhappiness over the pace of the story.
Among the markets outside Tamil Nadu, the response in Karnataka was good but it is going to make way for Balakrishna's “Veera Simha Reddy” and Chiranjeevi's “Waltair Veerayya” in Andhra Pradesh.
The estimated worldwide collection of “Thunivu” is around Rs 35 crore.