Vijay-AR Murugadoss’s third collaboration Sarkar has broken collection records, joining the 100-crore Gross Worldwide Club in just two days. It has become the first Vijay film to do so.
In the state, too, Sarkar broke records by reaching the spot that was previously dominated by SS Rajamouli’s Baahubali - The Conclusion. Sarkar made over 30 crores on its first day in the state while Baahubali 2 had stood at 19 crores on day one.
The film also collected Rs 2.41 crores in Chennai city on its first day of release, surpassing Rajinikanth’s Kaala that made Rs 1.76 crore. Rajinikanth's previous release Kabali had made Rs 46.50 crores in the Indian box-office on Day 1, which includes Rs 21.50 crores from Tamil Nadu totally and Rs 1.12 crores from Chennai city.
A reliable industry tracker who did not wish to be named said, "The film had a grand opening and had a very good pre-release hype. This is the first time a Vijay film has reached the 100 crore box office spot in just two days. His previous Mersal also did so but in four or five days."
It's official #Sarkar #ChennaiCity Gross - Rs 2.41 Cr (approx) from 70 screens on Day 1. It's a new collection record for Chennai City for any film. #AbiramiRamanathan the distributor says - "I'm very, very happy." Well done #ThalapathyVijay, @ARMurugadoss @sunpictures.
— Sreedhar Pillai (@sri50) November 7, 2018
#SARKAR All India Net Biz- ₹ 35 cr. Yes it broke #Sanju day-1 collection record. Congratulations #Vijay @ARMurugadoss & the entire team.
— Sumit kadel (@SumitkadeI) November 7, 2018
A Tamil film surpassed the opening day record of Bollywood biggie in 2018. Thalapathy Vijay’s #Sarkar day one all India collection > Ranbir Kapoor's #Sanju. Proud moment for Tamil cinema. Only Superstar Rajinikanth enjoyed this craze, now it's Vijay’s time.
— Rajasekar (@sekartweets) November 7, 2018
Sarkar also reportedly zoomed past the Ranbir Kapoor starrer Sanju’s day one all India collection records that stood at Rs 34.75 crores. The film had 2018’s biggest opening.
#SARKAR All India Net Biz- ₹ 35 cr. Yes it broke #Sanju day-1 collection record. Congratulations #Vijay @ARMurugadoss & the entire team.
— Sumit kadel (@SumitkadeI) November 7, 2018
Non-holiday... Non-festival release... Yet, #Sanju packs a PHENOMENAL TOTAL on Day 1... Emerges the BIGGEST OPENER of 2018 [so far]... Also, Ranbir's HIGHEST OPENER to date... Expected to cross ₹ 100 cr in 3 days, as per trends... Fri ₹ 34.75 cr. India biz.
— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) June 30, 2018
TOP 5 - 2018
— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) June 30, 2018
Opening Day biz...
1. #Sanju ₹ 34.75 cr
2. #Race3 ₹ 29.17 cr
3. #Baaghi2 ₹ 25.10 cr
4. #Padmaavat ₹ 19 cr
[Thu release; incl Wed previews ₹ 24 cr]
5. #VeereDiWedding ₹ 10.70 cr
India biz.
[Hollywood films not included]
Sarkar, which released to coincide with Deepavali on November 6, a Tuesday, has been produced by Sun Pictures. The film released in 800 theatres in the state and close to 3000 worldwide.
Abirami Ramanathan, President, Theatre Owners’ Association, asserts that Sarkar has not just been Vijay’s biggest opener but has had the best opening among all releases in recent years. “The filmed opened in 69 theatres in Chennai and both Day 1 and Day 2 are running to packed houses,” he said.
The film drew massive crowds across the globe. Ticket New tweeted that Sarkar is the first movie to simultaneously release in 5 continents, 80 countries and more than 1200 international screens across the globe.
#DidYouKnow: #Sarkar is the first movie to simultaneously release in 5 continents, 80 countries and more than 1200 international screens across the globe! #ThalapathyVijay #SarkarFromToday #Diwali pic.twitter.com/kxk2naUbUy
— TicketNew (@TicketNew) November 6, 2018
According to trade sources, this is the sixth 100-crore grosser for Vijay and fourth in a row after Theri, Bairavaa and Mersal. The film revolves around one man’s mission to fight for his voting rights after someone casts his vote illegally and he challenges the system in the process. The film also stars Keerthy Suresh, Radha Ravi, Varalaxmi Sarath Kumar and Yogi Babu.
Sarkar managed to do well even outside Tamil Nadu. In Kerala, it grossed over Rs. 6 crores on release day, registering a new all-time opening day record. In the Telugu states, the dubbed version of the film opened to a first-day share of around Rs 2 crores which is exceptional for a Vijay starrer as his films haven’t done so well in Andhra and Telangana in the past.
Sarkar has had its fair share of controversy both before and after its release. Writer and assistant director Varun Rajendran had claimed that the Sarkar story was based on his script titled Sengol. His claims were validated when director AR Murugadoss agreed to acknowledge his name in title cards when the case was heard at the Madras High Court on October 30.
A day after its release, however, Information and Publicity Minister of Tamil Nadu, as well as the Law Minister of Tamil Nadu, warned action against the screening of the film, asking makers to remove scenes that criticise the state government.
(With inputs from Digital Native)