Mani Ratnam's Chekka Chivantha Vaanam earns over Rs 30 cr in Tamil Nadu within first four days

Veteran director Mani Ratnam has delivered his biggest ever opening, the multi-starrer Chekka Chivantha Vaanam,  which released on 27 September. In four days, Chekka Chivantha Vaanam has grossed an impressive Rs 30 crore plus from Tamil Nadu market alone, making it Mani’s biggest ever hit. [caption id=“attachment_5292961” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Stills from Chekka Chivantha Vaanam. Twitter[/caption] As per trade sources, the approximate figures for Tamil Nadu are huge – Thursday Rs 8.05 crore, Friday Rs 6.05 crore, Saturday Rs 7.50 crore and on Sunday bigger than the opening day with Rs 8.50 crore. Chekka Chivantha Vaanam has grossed approximately Rs 30.10 crore in four days, from 470 odd screens in Tamil Nadu, phenomenal by any yardstick. At the US box office, it has crossed half a million US dollars by Sunday and is equally strong in all other overseas markets. In North Indian multiplexes, the film has taken a good opening. However, its Telugu version Nawab is below average in Telangana and Andhra.    

Rakesh Gowthaman, of the popular suburban complex Chrompet Vettri, says, “Chekka Chivantha Vaanam is Tamil cinema’s biggest opener of the year (2018). We had 33 shows out of which 32 have gone full during the last four days. It reminds me of the kind of opening Baahubali 2 or Mersal took. Today being Monday, there is no expected drop as noon and matinee have gone full. And tomorrow being a public holiday, all five shows have been sold out in advance. It looks like a blockbuster opening”. The reason given by the trade for the film turning out to be a hit in Tamil Nadu were the two impressive trailers of the film and its ensemble cast. Chekka Chivantha Vaanam had received positive feedback from the audience on social media. Ratnam went all out to cater to the taste of today’s youth audiences. The fans of the actors, Arvind Swamy, Arun Vijay, Simbu and Vijay Sethupathi, flocked to the theatres. And the negative publicity surrounding the film that it is plagiarised from a Korean film also helped it to garner the big opening.     More than anything else, it was the perfect date and wide release that brought in the moolah. After weeks, a Tamil film opened in Tamil Nadu on the announced date and time with early morning shows starting at 5 AM. Chekka Chivantha Vaanam is doing extremely well in the urban areas of the 3Cs — Chennai city, Chengalpet (suburbs of Chennai city) and Coimbatore. In other areas, it is above average to good. The trade estimate is that Chekka Chivantha Vaanam will gross more than Rs 50 crore from the Tamil Nadu theatres and will make profits for all associated with the film. The brand of Mani Ratnam has made a fantastic comeback.