Chennai: The release of superstar Rajinikanth’s highly anticipated film, Coolie, directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj, on August 14 is sure to have a huge impact at the box office. Even though it came out at the same time as Hrithik Roshan and Jr. NTR’s War 2, the movie’s pre-sales have been amazing, setting records in India and around the world.
As of 11 a.m. the day before its debut, trade tracker Sacnilk said that Coolie had sold an amazing 12,46,828 tickets across India, bringing in a total of ₹27.01 crore. Most of these sales were for the Tamil version, which sold more than 10 lakh tickets. The Telugu dubbed version came in second, with more than 1 lakh tickets sold. The movie has done well all over South India, with Tamil Nadu leading the way with ₹11.97 crore, Karnataka with ₹6.85 crore, Telangana with ₹1.69 crore, and Andhra Pradesh with ₹1.46 crore.
Coolie’s pre-sales have never been seen before around the world. The movie made more than ₹110 crore in its first weekend, with an estimated ₹80 crore coming in on the first day alone. This includes a huge ₹60 crore from pre-sales outside of India for the weekend, with ₹45 crore coming in on the first day alone. In the U.S., the movie also achieved history by being the first Tamil film to make more than $2 million in pre-sales before its release.
The record-breaking numbers have sparked speculation about whether Coolie can surpass the opening day collections of Lokesh Kanagaraj’s previous film, Leo, which holds the record for the highest opening for a Tamil film with a worldwide collection of ₹142.70 crore.
Coolie has a roster of actors from all around India, including Nagarjuna, Upendra, Soubin Shahir, Shruti Haasan, and Aamir Khan in a unique role. The movie’s premise is mostly a secret. The British Board of Film Classification, on the other hand, called it a “action drama” in which a “mysterious man takes a stand against a corrupt syndicate that is abusing and exploiting the workers of a port town.” Sun Pictures made the movie, which is Rajinikanth’s 171st and honors his 50 years in the business.