Chennai, January 22 - The year 2023 has opened with a bang for the Indian film industry, led by South Indian films as the gamble to release four big films around the same time on this Pongal/Sankranthi festival has paid off.
Pongal/Sankranthi has always been a lucrative festival for South Indian films at the box office, and this year was no different with four biggies released and got succeeded. Thalapathy Vijay and Ajith Kumar released their biggies "Varisu" and "Thunivu", respectively. On the other hand, Chiranjeevi and Nandamuri Balakrishna brought their films "Waltair Veerarya" and "Veera Simha Reddy".
All four aforementioned films were having over 400 crores on their shoulders as far as the theatrical share collection is concerned. The combined business of all four films has already crossed the break-even mark as the overall gross collection of them has rocked 700 crores at the global box office. Thalapathy Vijay's "Varisu" is leading over the other three films though it is yet to achieve its individual break-even target.
Have a look at the total collection details of all four films worldwide (as of January 21) -
Varisu - The family action drama film has grossed approx. 244 crores worldwide, including 166 crores domestically so far in just 11 days and it will soon turn into a profitable venture for the investors despite the high stake. The movie was valued at around 140 crores and has already recovered approx. 128 crores, needing another 10-12 crores for the break-even. It has a direct clash with "Thunivu", and despite that, the movie has managed to cross the 100 crores mark in Tamil Nadu state.
Waltair Veerayya - The action drama film has become the first clean hit for Megastar Chiranjeevi since "Khaidi No. 150" (2017). It has so far grossed approx. 178 crores worldwide, including approx. 153 crores in India in just 9 days. It was valued at approx. 89 crores and has already managed to make approx. 17 crores profit. It will soon enter a 200 crores club worldwide.
Thunivu - Another film that has managed to achieve the break-even target within two weeks. In just 11 days since its release, the heist action thriller film has grossed approx. 168 crores, including approx. 118 crores domestically. It was valued at around 85 crores and it has surpassed this mark and turned into a profitable venture.
Veera Simha Reddy - The Nandamuri Balakrishna's action drama gets saved by the Sankranthi holidays. It will eventually achieve the break-even target but is unlikely to big a big profitable film for the involved parties. Despite all this, it has become the highest-grossing film for NBK. The movie so far has grossed approx. 120 crores worldwide, including approx. 106 crores domestically in 10 days.
The combined gross collection of all four aforementioned films stands at approx. 710 crores (as of January 21) and the said films are likely to add another, at least, 30-40 crores more to the tally.
Stay tuned...
