The year 2024 proved to be a mixed bag for Tamil cinema.
Films including Kamal Haasan’s Indian 2,Suriya's A while, and Rajinikanth’s Vettaiyan, which were expected to be hits, underperformed at the box office. On the other hand, small and medium-budget films like Lubber Guide, Garudan, Vaazhai and Maharaja earned solid profits.
While Vijay’s The Greatest of All Time is a blockbuster, it fell short of his 2023 biggie Leo. Ajith Kumar, one of the leading stars in Tamil cinema, didn’t have even a single release this year.
Aranmanai 4 a huge hit
It took nearly four months for Tamil cinema to deliver its first big blockbuster Aranmanai 4which amassed more than Rs 100 crore at the box office. Before the Sundar C directorial, only films like Bluestar (11 Rs crore in Tamil Nadu), Lover (Rs 10.4 crore in Tamil Nadu) and Romeo (Rs 15 crore in Tamil Nadu) earned decent profits for the producers.
Also read: Star review: Feel-good, inspirational drama with flawed second half
The year 2024 itself didn’t start well for the Tamil film industry. Both Pongal releases – Dhanush’s Captain Miller and Sivakarthikyan's Come on couldn’t even cross the Rs 100-crore mark together in Tamil Nadu. Last year, Vijay’s Varisu and Ajith’s Thunivu put together collected more than Rs 260 crore in the state and globally collected nearly Rs 500 crore.
Other than Aranmanai 4,Kavin's Star collected around Rs 22 crore in Tamil Nadu while Hiphop Tamizha Adhi also delivered a hit film this year after a brief hiatus with PT Sir.
Summer blockbusters
The other summer blockbusters of this year were Soori’s Garudanwhich collected around Rs 50 crore in the state, and Vijay Sethupathi’s Maharajawhich is inching towards the Rs 200-crore mark globally. The film is now set to collect Rs 100 crore just from China!
Also read: Indian 2 review: Vigilante drama lacks Shankar’s punch, but Kamal scores
The Tamil film industry pinned big hopes on showman director Shankar and Kamal Haasan’s Indian 2, but the movie received horrible reviews and ended up as one of the biggest disasters. Despite its mammoth budget, Indian 2 collected only Rs 150 crore globally.
There was no big expectation for Dhanush’s Raayan before its release, but the film surprised everyone by collecting a whopping Rs 150 crore and ended up as his career’s highest grosser both in Tamil Nadu and globally.
Horror films rake in the moolah
The Tamil industry heavily banks on the horror genre of films to rake in massive profits. Followed by Aranmanai 4‘s massive success, another horror franchise, Demonte Colony 2earned a good Rs 38 crore in the state.
Though Vikram’s Thangalaan wasn’t a failure at the box office, the film could’ve done better, especially after receiving positive reviews from critics. The film collected around Rs 78 crore worldwide.
Also read: Thangalaan review: Pa Ranjith’s film is engaging but slow; Vikram is sheer gold
Another critically acclaimed film, Meiyazhaganalso could only earn Rs 50 crore globally. Interestingly, both Meiyazhagan and Thangalaan had good views on the OTT platform Netflix, especially the former.
Box-office favourites
The Tamil Film Active Producers Council recently said in a statement that online public reviews affect their revenue badly. However, if there is one film that was unaffected by mixed reviews, it is Vijay’s The Greatest of All Time. It amassed nearly Rs 455 crore globally and more than Rs 215 crore in Tamil Nadu.
The Vijay starrer is Tamil cinema’s highest-grossing film of 2024. Interestingly, Vijay’s re-release Ghilli also collected around Rs 30 crore worldwide.
Also read: Amaran review: Gripping tragic tale of a martyr; slows down in second-half
Another big surprise of the year is Sivakarthikeyan’s Warning which collected around Rs 330 crore worldwide and became the second-highest grosser of the year. Sivakarthikeyan walked the extra mile this year by releasing the festival circuit film Kottukaali in theatres. However, the film was a box-office failure despite getting critical acclaim from reputed critics and directors.
Another critically-acclaimed film – Mari Selvaraj’s Vaazhai – turned out to be a big blockbuster. It collected more than Rs 30 crore.
Rajinikanth-starrer an average grosser
Though Superstar Rajinikanth’s Vettaiyan received good reviews, it collected only 50 per cent of his last year release Jailer. Vettaiyan‘s overall gross is around Rs 245 crore and it was an average grosser at the box office.
Another small film that minted big money is Lubber Guide. It collected nearly Rs 40 crore in Tamil Nadu. Its director Tamizh and actors Harish Kalyan and Dinesh are some of the most wanted names now in the industry.
Also read: Kanguva review: Suriya’s performance stands out in mediocre period fantasy
Jayam Ravi's two films, Siren and Brother, were box office failures. The actor needs to deliver a big hit to make a comeback. The year 2024 began well for Kavin but his Diwali release Bloody Beggar performed below par at the box office.
Just like Indian 2there was huge expectation for Suriya’s A while but the film was trashed by critics and audiences alike. Everyone thought that A while could be the biggest pan-India film but it failed miserably at the ticket window.
The year 2024 ended with Viduthalai 2which earned mixed to good reviews and had (till December 26) collected just above Rs 30 crore in Tamil Nadu.
Other language hits
Manjummel Boys (Rs 64 crore in Tamil Nadu), Avesham (Rs 10 crore in Tamil Nadu) and Premalu (Rs 10 crore in Tamil Nadu) are the biggest blockbusters from Malayalam.
Also read: Are Manjummel Boys lovable lads or rascals? Treading a thin line
Among Telugu films, Kalki 2898 AD (Rs 46 crore in Tamil Nadu), Lucky Baskhar (Rs 16 crore in Tamil Nadu) and Pushpa 2 (Rs 70 crore) are some of the biggest blockbusters from Telugu.
No Kannada films scored big this year.
2025, the year of biggies
We can say that 2025 is the year of biggies in Tamil cinema. Ajith will have two releases, Vidaa Muyarchi and Good Bad Ugly. Suriya is now eyeing a big comeback with Karthik Subbaraj’s Retro and an untitled film with RJ Balaji.
Also read: Nayanthara docu review: Of struggles, stardom, love affairs, a big fat wedding
Already, actor Vijay has announced that his 69th film with director H Vinoth will be his last film. Superstar Rajinikanth will also have two releases — Lokesh Kanagaraj’s Coolie and Nelson’s Jailer 2.
After NayaganKamal Haasan and Mani Ratnam are reuniting with Thug Life. Vikram's Veeran Long Sooran is already generating good buzz while Dhanush’s Only Idli and Because and Sivakarthikeyan’s film with Sudha Kongara have also grabbed everyone’s attention.
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