“En nabana irukaruthukku endha thaguthiyum venaam, edhiriya irukarathuku thaguthi venum (You don’t need any eligibility to be my friend, but you do need it if you want to be my foe),” is a popular dialogue from Ajith’s Billa (2007). In terms of box office records, Ajith has always had a worthy opponent– Vijay. Though the two actors have always maintained a cordial relationship in real life, when it comes to the film business, it has always been a war. It’s an age-old phenomenon in Tamil cinema, where two top stars have always been tussling with each other in terms of fanbase and collections. We had MGR vs Sivaji, then Rajinikanth vs Kamal Haasan, and now, Vijay vs Ajith.
Over the years, Vijay and Ajith have had releases on the same day, and both have had their share of wins and losses. In fact, Ajith and Vijay are clashing at the box office for the 13th time. It started way back in 1996 when Vijay’s Coimbatore Mappilai and Ajith’s Vanmanthi were released on that year’s Pongal. And their last fight happened in 2014, when Vijay’s Jilla and Ajith’s Veeram were released for that year’s Pongal. Ajith’s Veeram ended up as the winner, and it has to be seen if Vijay will avenge it this time.
But before that one has to see whether the two films have a level playing field. Ever since it was announced that Thunivu and Varisu are coming out on the same day, it created a lot of debate about how the screens will be distributed for the two titans. With Red Giant Movies coming into the picture as a distributor for both films, a pact seems to have been formed. Tiruppur Subramanian, TN Theatre and Multiplex Owners Association President, says, “There are about 1100 to 1200 screens in Tamil Nadu, and they will be shared equally between the two films. There will be no unequal distribution in the number of screens.”
On the other hand, a source tells us that Thunivu is getting more screens than Varisu. The source says, “Wherever Red Giant Movies is distributing both the films, they are getting equal screens. But there are certain areas where Thunivu is getting more screens than Varisu, but that will not create a huge impact. Also, based on the response from the first few days, things will get reshuffled.”
Woes of theatre owners and distributors
However, Tiruppur Subramanian is not very fond of such box-office clashes of superstars. “This is just a loss. Big films like these should come out separately that’s when they can realise their potential. Now, the two will cancel out each other and would only lead to a lose-lose situation.” Echoing his opinion, the proprietor of Vetri Theatre, Rakesh Gowthaman, says, “Imagine, what if Ponniyin Selvan 1 and Vikram had come on the same day? If a film could collect a 2x amount, it would end up collecting half of it, as the rest of the money will go to the other film. A great example of such a counter-productive clash is Petta vs Viswasam (2019). Both were really great commercial hits, but if they had come out separately, they would have done more business than what they had done.”
Rakesh also admits that there are advantages to such a box office clash. “The films are getting released on a long weekend, which will help fill all the seats in theatres, and people will have a choice. But on normal days, two big films clashing will not be a sustainable model. Also, it shouldn’t be films of two big heroes. The ideal situation should be: a big hero film coming out with a relatively smaller star film. When Beast and KGF 2 were released together last year, on a single day, we gave four shows to Vijay’s film and two shows to KGF 2 because for us Vijay is the bigger star than Yash. However, when Beast received a bit of an underwhelming response, we equally shared the shows, which helped both films. This is the ideal situation I am talking about.”
On the other hand, veteran producer Dhananjayan calls such competition a healthy scenario for theatres and cinema in general. When asked about the aforementioned issues of theatres, he says, “Competition always brings in excitement. Aren’t we all more excited for the India vs Pakistan cricket match? If there is no equal competition, we are not worried about the game at all, right? Same way, we have two heroes, who are loved by a lot of people, who are coming out with their respective films, which has created a lot of excitement. If only Varisu or Thunivu is getting released, only the respective fans of the stars will be excited, now the whole industry and cinema fans are waiting to see how this will pan out. So, it is a healthy competition.”
Box office predictions
Ramesh Bala, the box office tracker, admits that the collection of Varisu and Thunivu might get split as the two films have the potential of putting on a solo show. “If they had come out as a solo release, both the films would have earned about Rs 40 to 45 crore on the opening day in Tamil Nadu, but now, with them coming together, I think each one would earn around Rs 20-25 crore on the first day.”
When probed why the makers are reducing the potential of the films by releasing them on the same day, Ramesh opines, “It is because the Pongal holidays are factored in. We have about six to seven days of holidays, and I think they are trying to exploit it. Actually, it shouldn’t be a problem for the films.”
Talking about the weekend collections of both films, he says, “The film is releasing on Wednesday, so you are looking at a long weekend. I think both films would cross the Rs 80 to Rs 100 core mark by the end of Sunday. It is all guesswork only. It all depends on the first-day collection. This kind of clash is ‘okay’ only for the festival season, and that too only for Pongal. Even with Diwali, we won’t get such a long weekend. On other days, this kind of clash will not be good for the cinema business.”
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