'Sivaji' is box office boss

It was the biggest ever release in recent times. Touted to be the most expensive Indian film ever – the recently released Rajinikanth starrer 'Sivaji' created a lot of noise. And as the earnings at the box office shows, the hype might have been worth it.

 

A week after the release of 'Sivaji', there are still no tickets available at some theatres in Chennai. As the boards outside declare, tickets are sold out till June 26. This despite the fact that 'Sivaji' has released in a record 18 screens in the city.

 

Mahesh a Rajini fan said, "Tickets are not available. But we'll try to get it somehow and watch it."

 

Another Rajni fan, Christopher said, "You have to wait for at least three hours to get hold of a ticket and you have to book it at least two days in advance."

 

Yet another Rajni fan, Imtiaz said, "I went to three theatres, but still no tickets."

 

'Sivaji' opened at over 850 screens and so the expectations from the producers are already high. The movie opened with a record 600 plus prints in Tamil Nadu alone.

 

Meanwhile, 160 of them were distributed in the US, the UK, Malaysia, Singapore and Australia. Over 320 prints have been released in Telugu for Andhra Pradesh.

 

According to reports, 'Sivaji' has become the first-ever Tamil film to find a place in the UK Top 10 at No. 9. Filmed at a budget of Rs 85-90 crores, the revenue figures projected for 'Sivaji' from Tamil Nadu alone is 60-70 Crores. It's estimated to have grossed over 25 crores over the last one week in the state.

 

Overall, the film could be expected to gross over 150 crores from ticket sales alone. The producer's strategy to release a large number of prints, so as to rake in revenues within the first few weeks of release, seems to have paid off.

 

MS Guhan, the producer of 'Sivaji' said, "Our role-model here is not to run for a long time to take revenues the way Kollywood or Bollywood is doing today. We want to change the perception and say, if you run it for so many days, it doesn't make a difference, but it's how the revenue comes back to the distributors and exhibitors."

 

It's a week after the movie hit the theatres and 'Sivaji' is still running to packed houses even now. Moreove, by the looks of it, the film is sure to break some records at the box office.