The latest Malayalam action-comedy entertainer "Athiradi" has registered impressive numbers after its four-day theatrical run. The Basil Joseph-Tovino Thomas movie, which also features Vineeth Sreenivasan in an extended cameo, has maintained daily earnings of above Rs 4 crore so far, with its first Sunday collecting the highest, an impressive Rs 5.60 crore, according to Sacnilk box office figures.
Combined with the four-day total overseas gross of Rs 21 crore, "Athiradi" has fetched a cumulative gross of Rs 45.38 crore worldwide. After four days, the overseas total matched the India net total. The cumulative India gross currently stands at Rs 24.38 crore.
The opening four-day global collection is even more impressive for the reason that the movie, which marks the directorial debut of "Minnal Murali" co-writer Arun Anirudhan, has performed better than "Aavesham" and "Manjummel Boys" in terms of the opening numbers alone. The Fahadh Faasil movie earned Rs 42 crore, while the Soubin Shahir-led survival thriller grossed Rs 36 crore. It also did better than "Premalu" (Rs 16 crore in four days).
However, "Athiradi" trails other recent industry hits like "Vaazha 2" and "Aadu 3" in terms of the initial four-day velocity. While "Athiradi" had a highly competitive domestic start, its overseas presence on Day 4 was noticeably lower than the massive international numbers pulled by the other two sequels.
That said, "Aadu 3" and "Vaazha 2" carried pre-existing monumental hype from the popularity of prior instalments, leading to significantly higher single-day hauls on Day 4 ("Vaazha 2" touched an incredible Rs 8.55 crore net on its fourth day). "Aadu 3" garnered an outstanding Rs 50.45 crore gross from overseas within its first four days. For perspective, "Vaazha 2" and "Aadu 3" went on to cross the Rs 230+ crore and Rs 100+ crore milestones globally.
"Athiradi" will need exceptional weekday holds to mimic their long-term trajectories. So, it's too early to make any conclusive declarations. We must also remember that blockbusters like "Manjummel Boys", "Premalu", and "Aavesham" scaled the phenomenal heights they did, and established benchmarks, purely due to phenomenal theatrical longevity and historical runs in Tamil Nadu and neighbouring territories. It remains to be seen if "Athiradi" can match the same pace or fare better than them. The crucial first Monday performance will be an indicator of the movie's holding strength.