Kaala box office report: Rajinikanth film makes Rs 15 cr in Tamil Nadu; records slow start in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana

Rajinikanth’s Kaala has recorded a decent opening in his core market Tamil Nadu. The film has grossed approximately Rs 15 crore on the first day of its release from around 600 odd screens in the state. It means a net box-office of around Rs 11 cr after GST and LBET (Local Body Entertainment Tax), which makes it an above average opening for a Rajinikanth film. The film has received mixed reactions among the audiences in Tamil Nadu, though reviews have been fairly decent. [caption id=“attachment_4501705” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Rajinikanth in a still from Kaala. Image via Twitter[/caption] As per early reports Kaala’s performance has been below average in other markets. In regions of Andhra and Telangana, the film has opened below average and is reported to have grossed around Rs 6.5 cr on day one. In Kerala, the Ramadan period and the advent of monsoon has taken a toll. Kaala got a truncated release in Karnataka due to opposition from pro-Kannada elements with hardly a dozen screens out of the 160 planned screening the film. The fans, fearing mob attack, kept away. Today on its second day of its all India release, the Rajinikanth film will be playing in all announced screens in Karnataka. In North India early reports indicate it has taken around 35 per cent opening. Despite lukewarm advance booking Kaala grossed around Rs 15 crore in Tamil Nadu, thanks to the controversies surrounding the film. The E Palanisamy led ADMK government issued a GO (government order) allowing extra morning shows on two working days: Thursday and Friday. Normally, the Tamil Nadu government allows only four shows daily, five on Saturday, Sunday and festival holidays. This has given Kaala the extra edge, especially in urban areas of Chennai city and its suburbs in Chengalpet district, where the film is doing the best. In Chennai city, thanks to the Tamil Nadu government’s order, the film had five shows in multiplexes which also raised ticket prices, resulting in a whopping Rs 1.78 cr on day one — a new record for Chennai city. The film is below average in rural areas. It is surprising to witness this change as Rajinikanth used to have a strong foothold in B and C market. However, for Kaala, the occupancy on the opening day was only 60 -65 % in some key towns, which has not happened before. Kaala’s day one gross Tamil Nadu collection is nowhere near the bumper Rs 21.5 cr of his previous release, Kabali (2016). It proves that Kaala is going to be only 65 to 70 per cent of the gross of Kabali. But the biggest advantage that Kabali had was that it did not have to pay GST and Local Body Entertainment Tax, both introduced in the past year. A top distributor in Tamil Nadu remarked: It’s a miracle that Kaala did Rs 15 cr gross on the opening day despite a bad release date (7 June). After schools reopened, the film had very lowkey promotions unlike Kabali which even had a plane painted with its logo and many brands associated. And there was so much negative publicity due to Thalaivar’s political statements and his Thoothukudi visit a week before the film’s release. Most importantly, I would say was that Rajinikanth was a superstar and a common man without any affiliation to a political party or ideology at the time of Kabali release.”