Taking a look back at previous TN lifetime gross records as Baahubali 2 makes it past 100 crores gross :-

With Baahubali 2 making it past the 100 crores gross mark on the 16th day of release in TN, lets take a look back at previous lifetime gross records. 






1) THIRISOOLAM :- 
               
The 200th film of Veteran Sivaji Ganesan also happens to be his last blockbuster. An official remake of Kannada film "Shankar Guru", it's said to be the first Tamil film to have grossed 5+ crores worldwide apart from selling more than 3 crores tickets. It's status as an Industry hit is something that used to be debated during the time of release by movie journalists who claimed that MG Ramachandran's Ulagam Suttrum Valiban collected on par/more than Thirisoolam 

At the end, it couldn't be independently verified as DCR records used to be kept very classified and private such that it can verified only if both films producers meet and cross check collections. 


 


2) ABOORVA SAGOTHARARGAL :- 
                 
Singeetam Srinivasa Rao's new age revenge drama during its theatrical run pushed Kamal Haasan's star status upwards, breaking the decade long previous record held by Thirisoolam . The film's Telugu & Hindi dubbed versions also had a fairly good run. Since there were no proper records tracked during the late 80s/early 90s. Most records including footfalls records were mostly claims and speculations. Few say Aboorva Sagotharargal sold the most no. of tickets for a single film in TN till date while older journalists argued that MKT's Haridas sold more tickets than Aboorva Sagotharargal.




3) BAASHA :- 
                 
The action entertainer Baasha was a massive success catapulting Rajinikanth as the one and only undisputed superstar, it was the first film to gross more than 15 crores in TN (Final gross : 16.5 crores excluding the recent digital re-release) with the Tamil version alone grossing more than 25 crores in India (First for a Tamil film).





4) INDIAN :- 
                 
Made on a lavish budget of 15 crores, Indian was the costliest production in Indian cinema at the time of release. Expectations were sky high as Double Blockbuster director Shankar & Ulaganayagan Kamal Haasan teamed up for the first time. Living up to the expectations, Indian surpassed Baasha's records in India (Both Tamil & Telugu versions) while Indian's worldwide gross (Including Hindi version "Hindustani") remained the highest for a South Indian film till the release of Chandramukhi.

TN Gross was close to 25 crores while the Tamil version was the first to gross more than 30 crores in India. Despite all this achievements, Indian continued to show the negative vibes that Baasha hinted at earlier : As new gross records were being set, footfalls began to hit a new low, every film that set new lifetime gross record in TN sold lesser no. of tickets compared to previous record holder.




5) PADAYAPPA :- 
                 
3 years after Indian's success, Rajinikanth's Padayappa got the Superstar back to the top of TN Box office and eventually beat all of Indian's records except Kerala where Indian remained the highest Tamil grosser till the release of Vijay's Kushi. As Indian's Hindi dubbed version Hindustani was a massive success, Padayappa worldwide gross fell few crores short of Indian's worldwide gross (Tamil+Telugu+Hindi).




6) GHILLI :- 
                 
Who would have thought that the then rising tier 2 actor Vijay would beat a record set by the Superstar ?

It's not just any record, Padayappa was the highest grossing film ever in TN. Kamal Haasan lost his star status following 3 colossal disasters Hey Ram, Aalavandhan & Anbe Sivam, at some point senior distributors felt Kamal Haasan's market has been damaged beyond repair and even If he makes a comeback in the near future, he can't compete with Rajinikanth ever again. With the Superstar's closest rival going through a rough patch, Padayappa's TN gross record was expected to remain invincible unless Rajinikanth breaks it himself.

Around 5 years later, much to the surprise of everyone, the unthinkable happened.
Ghilli, a remake of Telugu Blockbuster Okkadu grossed 29 crores, thus marched ahead of Padayappa by around 1 crore gross. Though it was far behind Padayappa worldwide, setting new record in TN itself was unexpected. Ghilli's success resulted in Vijay getting hefty paychecks for his later films, although none of them managed to do what Ghilli did.




7) CHANDRAMUKHI :- 
                 
Though it's a remake of a Malayalam supernatural thriller Manichitrathazhu, the film's director P. Vasu packaged it into a horror comedy (A rare genre at the time of release) much to the displeasure of those who loved the original but the film got largely positive response from those who didn't see Manichitrathazhu and ultimately became a blockbuster everywhere it released including Kerala. It was the first to gross more than 40 crores in TN and opened 75 crores club in worldwide gross, it was the highest grossing South Indian film at the time of release .




8) SIVAJI THE BOSS :- 
                 
Perhaps the biggest blow to budget control in Tamil Cinema, Sivaji The Boss was an anti-corruption/vigilante film made on a lavish budget, very similar to Shankar's previous films. It was speculated that Rajinikanth's pay was the highest for an Asian actor after Jackie Chan.

Sivaji The Boss rewrote Indian Cinema history and became the first South Indian film to become the highest grossing Indian film beating Dhoom 2. It was the first time, a record generally meant for Bollywood films was set by a South Indian film.

The film grossed close to 70 crores in TN and around 152 crores worldwide, despite breaking and setting records in traditional as well as virgin markets, AVM Productions sensed return of investment hitting a new low with every big budget film and gradually distanced themselves from film production once they were done with prior commitments.

Read : Are big budget blockbusters on the verge of extinction ?





9) ENDHIRAN :- 
                 
Not popular opinion but was Endhiran a genuine blockbuster ? It was bound to become the highest grosser in TN for the never before seen hype, but how far was it profitable ? The Telugu dubbed version emerged victorious over Mahesh Babu's Khaleja & NTR's Brindavanam, while it was a blockbuster in Kerala & Karnataka as well . But as far as TN is concerned, it became the highest grosser in the state but final revenue was below expectations.

Endhiran was directly released by Sun Pictures throughout TN but considering the kind of MGs the film got from exhibitors, TN rights can be valued @ 60 crores. Final gross & share were 104 crores and 64 crores respectively. Theaters that screened the film on plain terms got benefited but Endhiran failed to recover the MGs invested in many B & C centers with few centers closing behind Sivaji The Boss and Chandramukhi.




Baahubali 2 made it past 100 crores on its 16th day and broke Endhiran's gross record a day later. Not a mean feat, SS Rajamouli has done what Rajini himself failed to do so in his last 3 films. Baahubali 2 will go down in history as the first bilingual film to set lifetime gross record in TN.

Note : Baahubali 2 TN share will still be lower than Endhiran because it's certified U/A. Only films with Tamil title & U certificate are eligible for tax exemption.

Stay tuned to today evening / Wednesday evening for weekly TN BO Estimates update .