96 earns Rs 10 cr across Tamil Nadu in opening weekend; Vijay Devarakonda's NOTA drops considerably

Tamil film lovers are currently reveling in one of the rarest phases of Kollywood. A slew of films such as  _Chekka Chivantha Vaanam_ , _Pariyerum Perumal_ , _96_  and  _Ratsasan_  have received rave reviews from both audiences and critics alike. All the movies above saw the light of day in a gap of just one week and have received unanimously positive response everywhere. [caption id=“attachment_5351841” align=“alignnone” width=“1200”]  Trisha and Vijay Sethupathi in a still from 96. YouTube[/caption] 96, directed by cinematographer-turned-filmmaker Prem Kumar, and starring Vijay Sethupathi and Trisha for the first time on screen, has collected a decent gross of Rs 10 crore in its four-day opening weekend. Considering the film belongs to the romance genre, it is a really good number. Now, owing to overwhelming reviews, the screens have been increased for the film, which is produced by Madras Enterprises and released by Seven Screen Studios. In the US, 96 grossed a total of $272,000 (Rs 2 crore) until Tuesday and become the fifth highest grossing Tamil film of 2018 after Rajinikanth-starrer _Kaala_ , Mani Ratnam’s Chekka Chivantha Vaanam, Suriya-starrer _Thaanaa Serndha Koottam_ and Kamal Haasan’s _Vishwroopam 2_ . During the opening weekend, 96 scored an excellent revenue of Rs 1.75 crore from the UAE-GCC territory. 96 also marks the third best performance of Vijay Sethupathi in the US after Chekka Chivantha Vaanam and the highly acclaimed Vikram Vedha. The film topped the box office in both Chennai and Tamil Nadu for the weekend ending 7 October. Chekka Chivantha Vaanam, NOTA , Ratsasan, Hollywood film _Venom_  and Pariyerum Perumal occupied the second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth spots respectively. Vijay Deverakonda-starrer NOTA has dropped considerably at the box office to the surprise of everyone. While the movie was received well by Tamil audiences since the subject matter was very close to the real occurrences in Tamil Nadu, the Telugu version did not meet the expectations of the fans. Deverakonda gracefully sent out a statement, addressing all the criticisms regarding the film. “To everyone who goes to the cinema for me. And to all who hope others fail and celebrate it. I will not make excuses; I take responsibility, I am proud of NOTA. It’s a story I wanted to tell, a character explored, and a performance delivered. Tamil Nadu, the national media and all the audience who loved it here, your love has been received. All the disappointment and criticism is taken seriously, it will be studied, the miscalculation on my side corrected, decisions evaluated and work put in but the attitude will not change. A success or failure isn’t what makes or breaks a Rowdy. The day you stop, give in, give up, that’s when you stop being one. And being Rowdy isn’t about just winning, it’s fighting for that win, it’s an attitude that burns inside us, so be proud rowdies, keep fighting. If its victory, will call it a victory or else will learn. For those who are celebrating this, celebrate now itself. I will be back. Rowdy for life," [sic] the statement read. Chekka Chivantha Vaanam (including the Telugu version Nawab) has crossed the $900,000 mark in its second weekend in the US, with a cumulative gross of $918,000. Since there is a bevy of new releases this week, it is going to be a challenging task for Chekka Chivantha Vaanam to achieve the $1 million milestone. In 11 days, Chekka Chivantha Vaanam, which brought together a galaxy of stars including Arvind Swami, Vijay Sethupathi, Arun Vijay, Simbu, Jyotika, Aishwarya Rajesh and Dayana Errappa in the lead roles, has raked in Rs 7.04 crore in Chennai. It is now the second Tamil film of 2018 to touch the Rs 7 crore mark in the city after Kaala. Disney/Marvel’s _Avengers: Infinity War_ is the only other film which grossed more than Rs 7 crore in Chennai this year. In Tamil Nadu, Chekka Chivantha Vaanam has passed the Rs 40 crore gross mark and is gradually inching towards the Rs 50 crore benchmark. Another film, which received extremely good responses from Tamil movie buffs last week, is Ratsasan. The film, which took home earnings of Rs 43 lakhs in Chennai, featured Vishnu Vishal’s career-best performance. Directed by Ram Kumar of Mundasupatti fame, Ratsasan is holding well this week and is expected to score good numbers at the end of the second weekend. In Telugu, Nani, Nagarjuna and Rashmika Mandanna-starrer _Devadas_ has failed to exceed the expectations of moviegoers. After earning Rs 29 crore in its four-day opening weekend, the film has just earned Rs 15.5 crore in the next seven days, taking the 11-day total gross to Rs 44.5 crore, with a worldwide share of Rs 24.5 crore.