Rajinikanth and Kollywood box office have always been like Siamese twins, you just can't separate them. Over the last five decades, the veteran has redefined box office numbers like no other star from Tamil Nadu, particularly during his peak in the 1990s and 2000s. When Chandramukhi and Sivaji shredded the record books in 2005 and 2007 respectively, sky was the limit for Rajinikanth. Taking the cue, he took his stardom to the next level with the sci-fi action spectacle Enthiran that was helmed by ace director Shankar.
Fittingly, Enthiran broke all records, not only in Tamil but also set new benchmarks for dubbed films in other languages. In fact, it was arguably the first film in the modern era to have a proper pan-India reach at the box office. Thalaivar was at the peak of his powers and he could do no wrong at that point. Sadly, things haven't been the same for Rajinikanth since. Particularly at the Tamil Nadu box office where his powers seem to have waned in recent years.
ALSO READ
- Industry buzz: Chiranjeevi and Mohanlal set to unite for the first time
- 'Bha Bha Ba' box office collection day 5: Dileep starrer is having a massive crash on Monday
- 'Dhurandhar' box office collection day 18: Ranveer Singh starrer beats Vicky Kaushal's 'Chhaava'; becomes the biggest Bollywood grosser of 2025
Since Endhiran, only one Rajinikanth film has managed to top the highest grosser of the year but there is catch to that as well. Darbar, released in 2020, released before the COVID pandemic hit India and subsequently, the film industry in itself was shut down for the rest of the year with no theatrical releases. Therefore, considering Darbar wouldn't be an objective yardstick in this regard. Even if we look at the theatrical fate of Rajinikanth films in Tamil Nadu during this period, Jailer is the only film that can be classified as a blockbuster. However, it couldn't top the TN box office in 2023 as Vijay's Leo overtook Jailer's collections to end up as no.1 for the year.
Petta, which released in 2019, is the only other Rajinikanth film that has done 'Hit' business in the state during this period. The 74-year-old's clout in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka continue to be intact with no real decline visible for now. Even in overseas territories, Rajinikanth's box office muscle continues to rule the roost and these factors have managed to cover up the cracks that are starting to open up in Tamil Nadu. Even his latest release, Coolie, managed to be the second highest opening day in the state but in his peak days, it should have been an opening day record. More so when you consider that the current record holder, Vijay's Beast, released back in 2022 when COVID19 hadn't fully left the country.
Let us have a look at the highest grossers of the year in Tamil Nadu Box Office.
2010: Enthiran (₹95 crores)
2011: 7am Arivu (₹55 crores)
2012: Thuppaki (₹72 crores)
2013: Singam-2 (₹60 crores)
2014: Kaththi (₹70 crores)
2015: Ai (₹74 crores)
2016: Theri (₹76.5 crores)
2017: Bahubali-2 (₹145 crores)
2018: Sarkar (₹127 crores)
2019: Bigil (₹147 crores)
2020: Darbar (₹86 crores)
2021: Master (₹143 crores)
2022: Ponniyin Selvan (₹221 crores)
2023: Leo (₹232 crores)
2024: GOAT (₹218 crores)
Currently, Ajith Kumar's Good Bad Ugly, which grossed close to ₹148 crores in the state, is the highest grosser of 2025 and going by the trends, the second week will tell whether Coolie can surpass it or not. Even if it does go past that figure, it is certain to finish under ₹200 crores in Tamil Nadu. It would still be a setback for Rajinikanth, given that three Tamil films have already breached that mark in Tamil Nadu, two of which belong to Vijay.