Hyderabad: Rajinikanth's upcoming film Vettaiyan is set to hit theatres on October 10, just ahead of Dussehra. Directed by TJ Gnanavel of Jai Bhim fame, the film has generated high expectations, especially in Tamil Nadu, where the star commands a massive following. The film's advance booking is progressing at a strong pace, particularly for the Tamil version, which has sold 3.1 lakh tickets so far, grossing Rs 6.37 crore. With the Telugu version selling over 19,000 tickets and Hindi over 9,300, the total advance booking revenue for the opening day stands at Rs 6.64 crore, with 3,36,115 tickets sold across India, as per industry tracker Sacnilk.
The festive release timing and the film's star-studded cast, including Amitabh Bachchan, Fahadh Faasil, Rana Daggubati, and Manju Warrier, are expected to boost its collections, particularly in Tamil and Telugu markets. Industry insiders believe that if the film garners positive word-of-mouth, it could rival this year's highest-grossing Tamil film, The Greatest Of All Time (GOAT), starring Thalapathy Vijay.
However, a comparison with Rajinikanth's 2023 blockbuster Jailer is inevitable. Jailer broke box office records, earning over Rs 600 crore globally, with Rs 18 crore in advance sales in India alone, selling 8.77 lakh tickets on day one. In contrast, Vettaiyan is lagging behind, particularly in advance bookings. The film will have to rely on strong reviews and word-of-mouth to match the massive success of Jailer, whose day-one collection in India alone was Rs 56.6 crore.