Mani Ratnam and Kamal Haasan have reunited 38 years after their cult crime thriller Nayakan with Thug Life, which hits cinemas today in Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi. Initial buzz for advance bookings was lower than their recent individual successes, but surged on the eve of release. According to Sacnilk, the Tamil version sold tickets worth Rs 5.3 crore (including Rs 5.25 crore in 2D, Rs 11.63 lakh in IMAX 2D, and Rs 70,470 in 4DX). The Hindi version fetched Rs 26 lakh, while Telugu bookings reached Rs 54 lakh. Across all versions, advance bookings total Rs 6.16 crore; when combined with block seat sales, Thug Life’s pre-release collections stand at Rs 13.89 crore.
This surpasses Mani Ratnam’s last directorial, Ponniyin Selvan: II, which earned Rs 11 crore in advance, though the first part had amassed Rs 18.95 crore. It edges closer to Kamal Haasan’s Vikram (Rs 15.3 crore) but remains below Indian 2’s Rs 17.9 crore. With little competition at the box office this week, collections are expected to climb over the weekend. In the Hindi market, Thug Life faces Housefull 5, starring Akshay Kumar.
The film will not release in Karnataka amid a dispute between the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) and Haasan over his remark that “Kannada was born out of Tamil.” The KFCC refused screening until an apology; Haasan approached the Karnataka High Court on Tuesday. Producers have stated they will not screen the film in Karnataka without dialogue involving the KFCC, and the court noted that a simple apology could have resolved the issue.
In Thug Life, Haasan portrays Rangaraya Sakthivel Nayakar, a man torn between crime and justice. The ensemble cast includes Silambarasan, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Joju George, Nassar, Mahesh Manjrekar, and Ali Fazal. Backed by Udhayanidhi Stalin’s Red Giant Movies and Ratnam’s Madras Talkies, the film marks one of the year’s most anticipated releases.
