Viswasam crosses Rs 130 cr mark in Tamil Nadu; Kumbalangi Nights, Dhillukku Dhudu declared hits

Thala Ajith’s holdover blockbuster Viswasam has become the new industry hit in Tamil Nadu after 32 days of release. It has become the first film in the history of Tamil cinema to cross the Rs 130 cr mark in the state. SS Rajamouli’s groundbreaking blockbuster Baahubali: The Conclusion (Tamil dubbed version) is the only other film to do so. [caption id=“attachment_5868541” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Ajith in a still from Viswasam. YouTube[/caption] After the lackluster box-office performance of the 1 February releases such as Sarvam Thaala Mayam, Peranbu, and Vantha Rajavathaan Varuven, Santhanam’s comedy entertainer Dhillukku Dhuddu 2 has brought back the cheer again for distributors. The film has taken a good four-day extended opening weekend in TN with a near-Rs 10 cr gross. In Chennai city alone, DD2 has earned more than Rs 2 cr in five days. Directed by Ram Bala, Dhillukku Dhuddu, which released in 2016, raked in nearly Rs 21 cr and was a blockbuster outing for Thenandal Films. Now, Santhanam is all set to repeat the same success with DD2, with Ram Bala again. However, the verdict of Karthi’s Valentine’s Day release Dev will also be one of the deciding factors in _DD2’_s box-office earnings. In Tollywood, Mammootty’s Yatra, which revolves around the significant period of ex-Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Rajasekhar Reddy’s life, has received decent reviews from critics. In three days, it has collected a gross of Rs 10.2 cr with a distributor share of Rs 5.58 cr. Since the film’s theatrical rights were sold for Rs 10 cr, it has to sustain this week to break-even for the stakeholders. Among the two notable new Malayalam releases, Kumbalangi Nights directed by Madhu C Narayanan, has earned excellent reviews from both critics and audiences like. The film, which is jointly produced by Dileesh Pothan, Fahadh Faasil, and Syam Pushkaran, has registered a very good total of Rs 4.8 cr from Kerala alone. With a good word-of-mouth, the film is releasing in the rest of India this week. Starring Shane Nigam, Fahadh Faasil and Soubin Shahir in important roles, Kumbalangi Nights has earned Rs 3.95 cr from the UAE-GCC belt alone, which is just Rs 90 lakhs lesser than its Kerala gross. Prithviraj’s sci-fi horror thriller Nine, which mark Sony Pictures’ first regional production in India, is struggling at the box-office. The four-day Kerala gross of the film is pegged at Rs 2.3 cr and the rest of India total is estimated to be Rs 1.1 cr. The UAE-GCC region contributed a gross of Rs 1.41 cr from three days for the film directed by Jenuse Mohamed. Fahadh Faasil’s holdover blockbuster Njan Prakashan has crept past the Rs 50 cr mark in worldwide theatrical sales. The film has become a solid blockbuster with Rs 53.5 cr gross worldwide, and the lion’s share of the revenue has come from Kerala with Rs 31 cr cumulative. In the UAE-GCC territory alone, Njan Prakashan, which also stars Nikhila Vimal in an important role, has garnered a total of Rs 13.25 cr. Meanwhile, Yash’s Kannada blockbuster KGF has entered the 50th day in theaters in a select number of screens. With close to Rs 230 cr worldwide gross, the magnum-opus directed by Prashanth Neel and produced by Hombale Films has already entered the top ten all-time highest-grossing movies list. By earning more than Rs 130 cr from the home ground Karnataka alone, KGF has also surpassed the box-office takings of Baahubali: The Conclusion (Rs 129 cr) in the state. [caption id=“attachment_5775911” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Yash in a still from KGF: Chapter One. Image via Twitter/@Siddhar34257480[/caption]