Despite houseful shows in Tamil Nadu, actor-turned-CM’s farewell film falters outside home state and in dubbed markets
Thalapathy Vijay’s final film before his political career, Jana Nayagan, opened to a muted ₹78 crore worldwide on day one, falling well short of the ₹100 crore mark many had predicted. The film, released Thursday after a seven-month delay, packed theatres in Tamil Nadu but struggled everywhere else.
Domestically, the film collected ₹41 crore net (₹48 crore gross), keeping it out of both the top five Tamil openers and Vijay’s personal top three. The Hindi and Telugu dubbed versions barely registered, together bringing in just over ₹3 crore,under 10% of the total gross.
Overseas numbers offered some relief, buoyed by a strong US premiere. North America alone contributed over $2 million, with other international markets adding another $1 million-plus, pushing the overseas tally to $3.2 million.
Even so, the ₹78 crore haul left Jana Nayagan outside the top 25 opening-day performances for Indian films. Seven Tamil films, four of them Vijay’s own, rank ahead of it. The number is roughly half of Leo’s near-₹150 crore opening in 2024 and Rajinikanth’s Coolie ( ₹152 crore) last year, and trails GOAT (₹99 crore) and Beast (₹83 crore) too.
Directed by H Vinoth, the film marks Vijay’s exit from acting after his TVK party’s Assembly win and his swearing-in as Tamil Nadu CM. It stars Pooja Hegde, Bobby Deol, Mamitha Baiju and Prakash Raj, with music by Anirudh Ravichander.
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