Kamal Haasan and Mani Ratnam’s Thug Life Tanks at the Box Office
Kamal Haasan and Mani Ratnam’s long-awaited reunion, Thug Life, is a complete box office failure. Even with all the nostalgia surrounding Nayakan and being a ₹200 crore movie, the film quickly tanked in its first-week showings. On Day 6, Thug Life made only ₹1.75 crore through shows on just 2089 screens across India, down from an initial 4917 screens.
Show Count Slashed In Half; Occupancy Stays At Unacceptable Levels
Thug Life was released on June 5, 2023, with a huge rollout of shows — 1535 Hindi, 2503 Tamil, and 777 Telugu — but with horrible word-of-mouth and very low footfalls, exhibitors were looking to cut their losses. By Day 6, show counts had dropped to 1290 from Tamil and 218 from Hindi, with mass exhibition circuits completely eliminated from the show lineups. Again, the premium formats (IMAX + large screens) were almost wiped out.
Occupancy numbers remained just as horrible — an occupancy of 17% in Tamil, 6% in Hindi, and 13.47% in Telugu — according to industry tracker Sacnilk. The numbers reflect the film falling off the wall and the refusal of audiences to give it a chance despite the presence of stars like Trisha Krishnan and Silambarasan TR.
Controversy Only Added To The Pain
The film’s box office woes were not helped by controversy. Kamal’s insinuation that “Kannada is born from Tamil” caused immense backlash, leading to a ban on screenings in Karnataka. The lack of a Karnataka release had a huge bearing on collections from an essential Southern circuit.
The film was released in different languages; however, the Hindi version took no notice, and the Telugu version had stiff competition from local releases.
Box Office: Thug Life vs Housefull 5
After the sixth day, Thug Life only managed an India net of ₹40.95 crore. By contrast, Akshay Kumar‘s Housefull 5 collected ₹10.75 crore on Day 5 alone and grossed over ₹100 crore in just four days despite mixed reviews.
Thug Life could be Kamal Haasan’s second box office loss in a row if Indian 2 already underperformed earlier in the year. If it continues to fall, they worry it would finish under ₹55 crore, which would be astonishingly poor for a ₹200 crore film.
It follows the trend of recent disasters like Varun Dhawan’s Baby John and Salman Khan’s Sikandar, who struggled similarly despite having big stars.
Box Office Worldwide Verdict
Thug Life had the stars, the scale, and the nostalgia. The raw ingredients to box office magic. Now on the sixth day, it has made only ₹1.75 crore with more than 3,000 shows having gone. This reunion between Kamal Haasan and Mani Ratnam sadly stands as an example of how big-budget, high-drama productions relying on legacy are threatening to become cautionary tales.
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