In the overseas markets, Ponniyin Selvam-1 has beaten Kabali and Vikram in the list of Tamil films that grossed big.
Chiyaan Vikram in a scene from Ponniyin Selvan 1. (Supplied)
Ponniyin Selvan-1, or PS-1 as fans are calling it, completed its eight-day run at the box office on Friday, 7 October. And trade sources told South First that the movie has already made a profit of close to ₹100 crore.
The ₹100-crore profit mark has been achieved thanks to support from the overseas markets — the US, UK, France and Australia — as, in the domestic market, it was only Tamil Nadu that gave decent returns.
The returns from other states were just about average.
At the time of writing on Saturday, PS-1 had beaten the overseas records of both Rajnikanth-starrer Kabali and Kamal Hassan’s Vikram.
But whether it will beat Vikram in terms of lifetime collection in Tamil Nadu remains to be seen. Vikram‘s eight-day collection in the state was ₹180 crore, while that of PS-1 is ₹138 crore.
Advance bookings for PS-1 is in the range of ₹10 lakh per day on average in many theatres outside Chennai. An average of ₹1 crore has been reported from Chennai multiplexes.
Trisha Krishnan as Kundavai in Ponniyin Selvan-1 movie. (Supplied)
PS-1 will easily cross other high-grossing Tamil films — Viswasam (₹139 crore), Bigil ( Rs 141 crore) — and may even touch the figure notched up by a non-Tamil film in Tamil Nadu — Bahubali 2‘s figure of ₹152 crore (the third-highest grosser in the Tamil Nadu box office).
Bahubaali 1 had only ₹150 crore in profit as it cost ₹300 crore to produce the first part alone, one source told South First.
PS-1, on the other hand, was budgeted at ₹200 crore and, according to its producers Lyca Productions, it has crossed ₹300 crore in gross collection from theatres.
By the time PS-2 hits the screens, the producers would have made enough money to spend on the making of the second part, especially if OTT and digital rights are included, the source revealed.
Success beyond boundaries!
Thank you for this tremendous response ❤️ ?#PS1 #PonniyinSelvan1 #ManiRatnam @arrahman @MadrasTalkies_ @LycaProductions @tipsofficial @tipsmusicsouth pic.twitter.com/XMdztUnkGc
— Lyca Productions (@LycaProductions) October 7, 2022
According to the source, Mani Ratnam had told A Subaskaran of Lyca Productions that he would take only a percentage of the profits and not work on a first-copy basis. Working on first-copy basis would have given Mani Ratnam a profit even before the movie’s release, and it would have been up to Lyca’s to make what it could at the box office.
Actor Vikram portrays Aditya Karikala in Ponniyin Selvan (Madras Talkies)
Mani Ratnam took an equal risk as he was confident that the film would work in a big way.
“If the film did not make a profit, Mani would have been left without anything for his work. He was so confident about the content,” added the source.
Mani Ratnam’s team worked with precision and made it possible to limit the shooting to a total of 150 days.
According to some reports, when actor Jayam Ravi mentioned this to SS Rajamouli, director of the Baahubali series, the latter was shell-shocked.
Now Mani Ratnam stands to make more money than directors Rajamouli-Shankar-Prashanth Neel and also get a permanent flow over the years as several rights get resold.
The highest paid actor in the film was Chiyan Vikram at ₹12 crore. Next in line was Aishwarya Rai at ₹10 crore, followed by Jayam Ravi (₹8 crore), Karthi (₹5 crore), and Trisha (₹2.5 crore). All other actors were in the range of ₹1.5 crore, and that includes Aishwarya Lakshmi. Jayram got ₹1 crore for his comic act.
Ponniyin Selvan reached the ₹100 crore collections mark in Tamil Nadu within five days, while Vikram took seven days. All the same, PS-1 suffered the “Monday fright”. On Monday, the film took a 50 percent drop in collections.
In the case of Vikram, the drop never happened.
On Day 8, the gross collection in Tamil Nadu was only ₹138.24 crore. It added only a ₹38 crore in three days. One reason for PS-1 reached the ₹100 crore and ₹300 crore mark faster than Vikram was that it had more screens within the state and abroad.
In the overseas market, PS-1 has beaten Kabali and Vikram in the list of Tamil films that grossed big.
It is just $1 million away from the record set by the Rajnikant starrer 2.0 in the US at the time of writing. However, the highest grosser among all Indian films in the US this year is Brahmasatra.
Like Vikram, PS-1 failed to make an impact in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, and in north Indian cities. In these markets, 2.0 had the last laugh.
May 13, 2024
Mar 26, 2024
Mar 21, 2024
Mar 15, 2024
Mar 14, 2024
Mar 14, 2024
