After opening to a lukewarm response, Kamal Haasan and Mani Ratnam's Thug Life witnessed a further drop in collections on its second day.
The film has been hit hard by the controversy surrounding Kamal's recent comments on the Kannada language, which led to the film's release being stalled in Karnataka. The effects of the controversy continued into Day 2, pulling the film's earnings down further.
What
- According to Sacnilk, Thug Life collected Rs 15.5 crore on its opening day.
- This is lower than the opening figures of Kamal's previous films like Vikram and Indian 2, as well as Mani Ratnam's Ponniyin Selvan: Part 2.
- On Friday, the film earned Rs 7.5 crore, a 55% drop, bringing its total domestic collection to Rs 23 crore over two days.
- The film also faced competition from the release of Housefull 5 on Friday. The Akshay Kumar-led comedy earned Rs 23 crore on its opening day, the same amount Thug Life collected over two days.
Background
While Thug Life was projected as a pan-India film, it struggled in the Hindi belt, earning only Rs 65 lakh on Day 1 and dropping to Rs 25-35 lakh on Day 2. On Friday, its Hindi occupancy was just 6.48%.
Even in the Tamil market - the film's primary base - Thug Life did not fare well. It recorded a 31.41% occupancy rate on Friday. In comparison, Kamal's Vikram had collected Rs 60 crore in two days, and Indian 2 had made Rs 44 crore despite mixed reviews.
When compared to Mani Ratnam's past films, Thug Life lags far behind. Ponniyin Selvan: Part 2 had collected Rs 50.2 crore in its first two days, while Part 1 earned Rs 65.35 crore in the same period.
Despite the slow start, the film still has a chance to improve its numbers over the weekend. The ensemble cast includes Trisha, Silambarasan, Joju George, Ashok Selvan, Nasser, and Abhirami, with music composed by AR Rahman.
