Thunivu Vs Varisu - THUNIVU is the WINNER by all means - Vijay loses
The two kollywood blockbusters that debuted for pongal 2023 were Ajith's Thunivu and Vijay's Varisu. While Vijay's Varisu was an action drama about a business family and how the youngest son Vijay protects it, Ajith's Thunivu was an action thriller about a bank heist and the story that follows it. ajith and Vijay's star power helped make the pongal season and the days that followed successful ones despite the mixed reviews that both Varisu and Thunivu received upon their releases.
Overall, Thunivu clearly trails Varisu in terms of numbers. The pre-release market for movies is very different, though. The pre-release business for Thunivu is worth 80Cr+, but the business for Varisu is worth 140Cr+. In every single market where it was released, Ajith's movie is a breakeven operation. In tamil Nadu, overseas, and Karnataka, it is profitable. Thunivu has surpassed Varisu in Kerala, which has historically been Vijay's stronghold, and has reached breakeven value. Only the markets in the UK, Australia, and new zealand have seen success with Varisu.
The movie was extremely expensive when it arrived in Varisu. In most cases, the statistics are still within the breakeven zone. The film's portion currently amounts to about 32Cr while the international rights are sold for 35Cr. Already, many locations have turned out to be losing ventures. In Kerala, a loss of almost 1.5 Cr is anticipated, whilst in Karnataka, the movie is not even closer to breaking even. This Vijay-starring movie still needs to make roughly 18Cr in tamil Nadu to break even, which is eminently not attainable.