Viswasam becomes Ajith's highest grossing film after beating Vivegam; F2 hauls in Rs 85 cr worldwide

Director Siva’s  _Viswasam_  has become Ajith’s highest grossing film, besting the worldwide total of Vivegam at Rs 125.2 crore. The movie has garnered a running total of Rs 96.5 crore in Tamil Nadu, making it the top-earning film of Ajith in the state. It is on the verge of touching the Rs 100 crore gross mark soon in the home ground. [caption id=“attachment_5868541” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Ajith in a still from Viswasam. YouTube[/caption] Produced by Sathya Jyothi Films and distributed by KJR Studios, Viswasam has touched the Rs 150 crore gross mark worldwide thanks to a steady run in Tamil Nadu, where the film has already earned a distributor share of over Rs 51 crore. It is now the first film of Ajith to breach the Rs 150 crore global total in his career. In Chennai city, the film is on the brink of entering the Rs 10 crore club with its 12-day gross standing at Rs 9.8 crore. In the overseas markets, another Pongal release, Rajinikanth-starrer _Petta_  is doing extraordinarily well compared to Viswasam although the latter has taken a reasonably good lead in Tamil Nadu by a margin of Rs 10 to 11 crore. In Singapore, the 11-day gross of Viswasam stands at SG $664,683 (Rs 3.48 crore) and is currently the best performing film of Ajith, surpassing the lifetime total of Vivegam (SG$ 647K). Viswasam also registered the second- best average weekend occupancy in multiplexes for the weekend ending 20 January, with 71% at the second spot. Rajinikanth-starrer Petta has become the third highest grossing film of the superstar in Tamil Nadu after  _2.0_  and Enthiran, thereby making it the best non-Shankar grosser for the Kabali actor in the state. Petta has also leaped past the Rs 170 crore mark from worldwide theatrical sales. It is currently the sixth highest grossing film of all time in Chennai with Rs 12.23 crore from 12 days, and will become the second best film of Rajinikanth in the city after 2.0, which is currently the all time top grossing film in Chennai. In the US, Petta, with its running total of $2.4 million (Rs 17.2 crore), is currently the third highest grossing film in the region after 2.0 and Kabali. Petta has once again reiterated Rajinikanth’s sole domination in the US with five of the top earning Tamil movies in the territory belonging to him. In Australia, Petta has accrued a total of A$532,597 and is now the second best Tamil film in the country after 2.0, which took home earnings of A$1,381,394. In the UAE-GCC, one of the essential territories for Tamil films, Petta has earned a dismal total of Rs 12.39 crore from 10 days. It is declared a flop in the region, where the film has to gross nearly Rs 23 crore to attain the break even point. In Kerala, Petta has raked in Rs 7 crore with a distributor share of Rs 3.3 crore. The rights of the film were sold for Rs 6.75 crore, and the break even in Kerala looks tough for the Karthik Subbaraj directorial. Meanwhile, Venkatesh and Varun Tej-starrer  F2 : Fun and Frustration has become the clean Sankranti winner in Tollywood, outperforming rival releases such as Nandamuri Balakrishna’s _NTR Kathanayakudu_  and Ram Charan’s commercial potboiler  _Vinaya Vidheya Rama_ . In nine days, F2 has hauled in a worldwide total of Rs 87 crore with a distributor share of Rs 55 crore. The world theatrical rights of the Anil Ravipudi-directed film were pegged at Rs 32 crore and the movie is already heading towards the double blockbuster status. In the US alone, the film produced by Sri Venkateswara Creations, and also starring Tamannaah Bhatia and Mehreen Pirzada as female leads, has pulled in $1.75 million (Rs 12.48 crore). Yash-starrer Kannada magnum opus  _KGF: Chapter One_ has crossed the Rs 220 crore mark from worldwide ticket sales and is currently an industry hit for Sandalwood. Produced by Hombale Films and directed by Prashanth Neel, KGF: Chapter One has dethroned Baahubali 2: The Conclusion in Karnataka to become the top grossing film in the state, with a running total of Rs 135 crore.