Kollywood
Chennai, August 26 - Tamil cinema has looked like a completely different beast at the box office in the post-pandemic era, where the industry delivered massive results in India and overseas. While there is still one missing piece (1000 crores grosser), the industry has witnessed three 500+ crore grossers, a milestone, which was achieved only once before the health crisis.
Amid the rising popularity of Tamil cinema, two names continue to dominate the industry â Thalapathy Vijay and Superstar Rajinikanth, who are miles ahead of the rest of the others. Between 2021 and 2025, the two megastars have collectively grossed nearly 3,400 crore worldwide, proving their unmatched star power and consistent ability to draw audiences to theatres.
Thalapathy Vijay leads the chart with an estimated 1,800 crore gross from his five films released after the pandemic. Starting with Master, with blockbusters like Beast, Varisu, Leo, and The GOAT, Vijay has delivered two 300+ crore grossers (Leo and The GOAT), with Varisu missed the milestone by a couple of crores, while Master and Beast finished over 200 crores globally, strengthening his position as the number one star of Tamil cinema in terms of box office pull.
Vijay's ability to cater to both mass and family audiences has ensured strong openings and sustained runs globally. Leo, directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj, remains his biggest grosser with 606 crores worldwide. The actor has one more film, Jana Nayagan, on Pongal 2026, before he hangs up his boots to join politics full-time. With his decision of not doing films anymore, the industry will be up without its biggest crowd-puller, someone who was the only challenge to superstar Rajinikanth.
The 75-year-old Rajinikanth is not far behind Vijay in terms of delivering massive box office results. The veteran actor's films (including Lal Salaam) have amassed around 1600 crore worldwide during the same period. Movies like Annaatthe, Jailer, Vettaiyan, and his latest gangster action drama Coolie have reaffirmed Rajinikanth's status as the ultimate crowd-puller. His films continue to shatter records with massive openings, particularly in Tamil Nadu, and also enjoy remarkable runs in overseas markets.
In the post-COVID period, Rajinikanth has delivered two record 500+ crores grossers (Jailer and Coolie), while Vettaiyan finished around 250 crores, and Annaatthe missed the double century mark by around 28 crores gross. Jailer (605 crores) remains the biggest grosser of the superstar during the period. Going ahead, Thalaivaar has a potential record-breaking blockbuster in the pipeline, including Jailer 2, and a multistarrer film with Lokesh Kanagaraj.
The numbers underline how Tamil cinema has become a driving force in Indian box office collections post-COVID, with both Vijay and Rajinikanth proving their supremacy. Rajinikanth will most probably overtake Vijay with the kind of films he has, especially with Vijay retiring from films after Jana Nayagan. While Tamil cinema will be without Thalapathy, Thalaivaar is expected to fill his void in the long run.
Stay tuned...
