Dagaalty and Naadodigal 2 struggle as Mysskin's Psycho continues successful run at Tamil Nadu box office

January ended for Kollywood with the release of Dagaalty and Sasikumar’s Naadodigal 2. The film was expected to repeat the success of Santhanam’s 2019 twin releases _Dhilluku Dhuddu 2_  and Accused No 1 , but it opened to dismal reviews on Friday. Consequently, the showing at the box office was also underwhelming. However, due to weak competition the film still topped the Tamil Nadu box office this past weekend. Dagaalty grossed Rs 3.62 crore in the state three days after its opening with the Chennai gross at Rs 65 lakh. The film has reportedly witnessed a substantial drop on weekdays and is nearing the end of its run. Santhanam would be looking to bounce back with his long-delayed Server Sundaram, out on 14 February. Naadodigal 2 did not see the light of day as planned on 31 January, opening on Saturday noon instead. Last-minute financial settlements, a regular norm in Kollywood in the past few months, was the reason for delay. The Tamil Nadu theatrical rights of Naadodigal 2 are close to Rs 11 crore, and it seems highly unlikely for the film to recover its investments. The delay in release can be accounted for Naadodigal 2’s struggle at the box office so far coupled with below-par reviews. Meanwhile, _Psycho_ continues its handsome run at the Tamil Nadu box office, grossing Rs 14.2 crore after 10 days. The Mysskin directorial’s Chennai cumulative total stands at Rs 2.41 crore. The film is likely to keep its steady run going for some more days to come. The prospect of the director’s next film Thupparivaalan 2, starring Vishal in the lead, have become better as a result of Psycho’s super hit success. [caption id=“attachment_8005601” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Aditi Rao Hydari in a still from Psycho. Image from YouTube[/caption] Pongal releases Darbar and Pattas  have almost completely exhausted their run in cinemas. The Rajinikanth-led cop drama has crossed the Rs 15 crore gross mark in Chennai, with the Tamil Nadu gross close to Rs 92 crore. Though these numbers appear significantly impressive on paper, Darbar has been a loss making venture for the state’s distributors. They have even approached the film’s producers Lyca Productions, who in turn directed them to Rajinikanth and director AR Murugadoss. Several reports claim that both the actor-director duo received a fat remuneration for Darbar. How this issue is resolved and whether Rajinikanth and Murugadoss meet the troubled distributors will be seen in the near future. The actor’s fans on social media are of the belief that this is a planned smear campaign against Rajinikanth as he plans to step into politics soon. Pattas, on the other hand, can be called a success after having grossed around Rs 30 crore in the state. This Dhanush-starrer has pulled in a total of Rs 2.97 crore in Chennai. Both Darbar and Pattas arrival on OTT platforms can be expected this month. Seeru and the Mani Ratnam-produced Vaanam Kottattum are the major Tamil films releasing on Friday, 7 February. Seeru is touted to be a commercial entertainer starring Jiiva, while Vaanam Kottattum is an exciting multistarrer with  Vikram Prabhu, Aishwarya Rajesh, and Radhika Sarathkumar, among others. Samantha Akkineni and Sharwanand-led _Jaanu_ , a remake of Tamil blockbuster 96 , is among the major Telugu language releases this Friday. The Telugu industry will be looking at one more blockbuster this year after Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo  and _Sarileru Neekevvaru_ .