Mumbai, India – Director Lokesh Kanagaraj’s latest film, Coolie, starring superstar Rajinikanth, has had a powerful run at the box office since its release on August 14. In less than a week, the action-packed movie has already surpassed the lifetime worldwide collection of Kamal Haasan’s Vikram (2022), cementing its place as Kanagaraj’s second-highest-grossing film.
The film, which was released alongside Hrithik Roshan and Jr. NTR’s War 2, has shown strong performance despite receiving mixed reviews from critics. According to the trade website Sacnilk, Coolie has amassed a worldwide collection of ₹418 crore by its sixth day (Tuesday), surpassing Vikram‘s lifetime haul of ₹414.43 crore. This impressive figure includes a net collection of ₹216 crore and a gross collection of ₹255.80 crore in India, with an additional ₹162.20 crore from overseas markets.
This achievement places Coolie just behind Lokesh Kanagaraj’s top-grossing film, Leo (2023), which earned a staggering ₹605.9 crore worldwide. For Rajinikanth, Coolie is now his third-highest-grossing film, following the sci-fi blockbuster 2.0 (2018) with ₹691 crore and the 2023 hit Jailer with ₹604.5 crore.
The film’s domestic collections have seen a dip during the weekdays after a strong opening weekend, a trend common for big-budget films. On its seventh day (Wednesday), early estimates suggest the film collected around ₹2.3 crore in India, bringing its domestic total to approximately ₹219 crore. Despite the slowdown, trade analysts anticipate that Coolie is on track to cross the ₹500 crore global milestone, especially with the upcoming weekend.
Coolie tells the story of Deva, a former coolie union leader played by Rajinikanth, who gets pulled back into a world of violence after the death of his friend. The film features an ensemble cast that includes Nagarjuna, Soubin Shahir, Shruti Haasan, Rachita Ram, Upendra, and a cameo by Aamir Khan. Unlike Kanagaraj’s previous films, Coolie is a standalone story and is not part of his popular cinematic universe.