A Rajinikanth film setting box office records is like an unsaid rule in Tamil cinema. The 'Superstar' has had his share of failures in the last decade or so but going by the initial reception to his latest release Coolie, it is safe to say that his stardom continues to remain intact.
The Lokesh Kanagaraj directorial released on August 14 to largely mixed reviews with a large section of people quoting it to be the weakest product from the director. However, the immense hype around his union with Rajinikanth has ensured a stellar opening weekend for the film at the worldwide box office.
As per initial estimates, Coolie has grossed ₹380 crores approximately at the worldwide box office in its extended four-day weekend, making it the highest opening weekend globally for a Tamil film. The weekdays should see it go past the worldwide gross of ₹400 crore, making it the third such film for Rajinikanth - the most for any Tamil actor. The previous global weekend record was with Vijay's Leo which raked in ₹361 crores worldwide during its four-day extended weekend in 2023.
While the initial numbers are sensational, Coolie's long-term success seems to be in shaky waters, with major drops observed in big markets across the weekend. For instance, the main region Tamil Nadu has seen a downward trend across Saturday and Sunday, with the advance booking for Monday showing an alarming drop. The same trend has been observed in Kerala and Rest of India while AP/TG and Karnataka are steady at the moment.
At the Tamil Nadu box office, Coolie registered the second highest opening day of all time, registering ₹34.4 crores, falling marginally short of Vijay's Beast, which at ₹35.2 crores still holds the opening day record in the state. However, Coolie created records overseas, with a record-breaking start of $8.75 million on its opening day, which is an all-time record for Tamil films, overtaking Leo ($8.15 million).
The overseas opening weekend for Coolie stands at approximately $18 million, with the estimates suggesting it to be in the range of Leo which grossed $17.85 million overseas.
