Kamal Haasan’s-Mani Ratnam's ‘Thug Life’ Earns Over ₹10 Crore on Day 1 Despite Karnataka Ban

Director Mani Ratnam's highly anticipated action drama, Thug Life, is ready to hit theatres, with the first show coming soon. The film, led by Kamal Haasan, marks the reunion of the director and actor 37 years since they last worked together, in Nayakan (1987).

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One of the most hyped Indian films of the year, Thug Life, will be allowed to have its first day-first show (FDFS) at 9 am on Thursday after Tamil Nadu government's approval for special shows at this time on the day of release. In the case of certain other recent Tamil films like "Thalapathy" Vijay's Leo (2023), there were earlier shows in the state due to restrictions similar to Tamil Nadu's were not implemented elsewhere. As a result, Thug Life's FDFS will begin simultaneously all across the country.

Even with the enormous hype and promotion generated, Thug Life trials to achieve the same results in advance booking as Kamal Haasan's previous two films. As of 7 PM on Wednesday, according to industry tracker Sacnilk, the Mani Ratnam directorial achieved just Rs 4.93 crore in advance bookings, with 2,90,838 tickets sold across 10,613 shows. Including block seats, the amount would only be Rs 12.32 crore.

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In comparison, S Shankar's box office disaster Indian 2 (2024) registered Rs 10.98 crore from advance bookings (Rs 17.9 crore with block seats), while Lokesh Kanagaraj’s Vikram (2022) recorded Rs 15.30 crore. The ban in Karnataka appears to have dented the box office prospects for Thug Life severely.

Thug Life also stars Trisha Krishnan, Silambarasan TR, Abhirami, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Ashok Selvan, Joju George, Nassar and Ali Fazal. Academy Award-winning composer: AR Rahman (music), Ravi K Chandran (cinematographer), A Sreekar Prasad (edit), Raaj Kamal Films International, Madras Talkies and Red Giant Movies (producers), whilst Anbariv has directed the action choreography.

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