A still from Ponniyin Selvan 2
Ponniyin Selvan 2, the conclusion of Mani Ratnam's two-part magnum opus on the Cholas, clocked earnings of over Rs 72 crore nett at the domestic box office after its first weekend, reports trade tracker Box Office India. PS-2 as the film's title is commonly shortened opened last Friday and has been in screens three days now. Per Box Office India, Sunday's collections were the highest so far at Rs 26.50 crore. On Friday and Saturday, PS-2 made Rs 22.50 crore and Rs 23.50 crore adding up to Rs 72.25 crore (all these are nett). The Tamil Nadu market contributed the largest chunk of earnings so far – Rs 41.40 crore of the total. These numbers compare unfavorably to PS-1's first weekend collection of Rs 90 crore nett but as standalone figures, the film is doing well.
Worldwide collections add up to Rs 150 crore, per trade analyst Ramesh Bala. See his tweet here:
Ponniyin Selvan 2 ends Mani Ratnam's saga of the Chola kingdom, adapted from Tamil writer Kalki Krishnamurthy's much-loved work of the same name which translates to "son of Ponni." The titular character, Chola prince Arunmozhi Varman who would become famous as Rajaraja the Great, is played by actor Jayam Ravi with Vikram as his older brother Aditha Karikalan and Karthi as Aditha's friend and emissary Vanthiyathevan. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan co-stars as the beautiful and formidable Nandini, who has history with Aditha Karikalan. Aishwarya also plays the enigmatic Oomai Rani. Trisha, Aishwarya Lekshmi and Sobhita Dhulipala are cast as Chola princess Kundavai, boatwoman Poonguzhali, and Arunmozhi's love interest Vanathi.
The ensemble cast includes stalwarts such as Prakash Raj and R Sarath Kumar. Mani Ratnam serves as producer as well writer and AR Rahman provides the music.