Vijay Thanks Chief Minister

It's the time to lead, as 'Thalaivaa' is finally hitting the Tamil screens tomorrows, after the long wait of ten days. The movie could not make it to the silver screen here, owing to security reasons, as there were bomb threats against the theatres that released the movie. After long discussions and proper bolstering of security, the film has finally been approved to be released across screens in Tamil Nadu, on Tuesday, 20th August.

Ilayathalapathy Vijay has now taken the opportunity to thank the Honorable Chief Minister for her initiative to intervene in the issue and ensure its proper release, despite her busy schedule. Vijay has declared the same in a statement, in which he has thanked not only the Honorable Chief Minister, but also the director, producers and distributors, for their understanding and patient cooperation. Vijay has insisted that the film be watched as family, in big the screen. Have you booked your tickets yet?

Thalaiva opening weekend results from outside Tamil Nadu

Though Thalaivaa didn’t make it in time to theatres in Tamil Nadu, some of the other prominent markets such as Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra and the overseas circuits saw the movie’s release and the opening has been good all over.

Kerala – From a total of 131 screens, the opening has been excellent and the first weekend gross is expected to be above 3 crores. The first day gross of 1.12 crores perfectly set the pace for constant improvements over the weekend. It must be noted that lot of audiences from Tamil Nadu are frequenting theatres in the TN – Kerala border to catch a glimpse of Thalaivaa. The Eid festival period has given a huge boost to the Kerala box-office and Thalaivaa stands on top. Distributors are confident that the movie’s overall collections will end up being as big as Thuppaki and Pokkiri in Kerala.

Andhra Pradesh – The Telugu dubbed version, Anna, after a terrific day one opening share of 1 crore, the overall weekend share settled at around 2 to 2.25 crores. Anna opened in around 275 screens, making it Vijay’s biggest release in Andhra. The Tamil version of the movie is being screened in 3 properties in Hyderabad City. The overall feedback from audiences seem to be that the second half is a little lengthy but the fact that the movie didn’t have any competition in its opening weekend helped its cause.

Karnataka – Bangalore City has seen an extraordinary opening for Thalaivaa with occupancies ranging in the 85 to 90% range. After the first day, 4 extra screens were added and trade pundits opine that the opening is better than the other recent big release Singam 2. A lot of fans had travelled from Tamil Nadu to see the movie, thereby adding to the craze in Bangalore City. But it must be seen if the weekdays can sustain as well as Singam 2 did.

UK – From the paid previews on Thursday till Saturday, Thalaivaa’s gross in the UK is 78 lakhs approximate from 34 locations and it is seen as a very impressive opening. Vijay’s films generally embark on a great start in the UK, and Thalaivaa is no exception.

USA – At the end of the first weekend, the US gross of Thalaivaa from 44 reported locations is 212,000 USD (1.29 crores). A record total of 70 locations are screening Thalaivaa and the total gross for the first weekend is expected to be in the 250,000 USD range. But there was a drop from Day 2 onwards and overall the film is expected to break-even in the US.

Malaysia, Singapore and Srilanka have opened well as expected, because Vijay enjoys a huge fan base in these countries.  

It must be noted that Chennai Express is on a record breaking spree in most of the overseas markets and the other Southern Indian states such as Karnataka and Andhra. This has impacted the collections of Thalaivaa, opine trade pundits.

Now all eyes are on Thalaivaa’s release date in Tamil Nadu and how it will open here.

Thalaivaa Release Date Postponed

After all the hype, the release of 'Thalaivaa' has now been postponed indefinitely. The decision was arrived at the meeting at Film Chamber, involving stake holders. Since countless number of bomb threats were received from theatres across the state, the film has been stalled temporarily, stating security reasons. However, the postponement is effective only in Tamil Nadu state and Pondicherry, while the movie will release as per schedule in the rest of the country and also worldwide. It is to be recollected that a similar incident surfaced during the release of Kamal Hassan's 'Vishwaroopam'.

Now, posters and hoardings of 'Thalaivaa' have been ordered to be removed across Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry. An official announcement of the postponement and also the new release date is awaited. It is well known that Ilayathalapathy Vijay has huge fan following all over the world. While people went to other states to watch Ulaga Nayagan's 'Vishwaroopam', how many will cross the border for Vijay's 'Thalaivaa'?