As Rajinikanth's latest film Vettaiyan hit screens today, the TJ Gnanavel directorial has collected an estimate sum of Rs 12.2 crores, according to industry tracker Sachilk. The film has also made $2 million in North America according to sources. While this figure is reportedly only till 5pm, the figures are expected to get hugely appended due to the night shows in severl parts of the country. Vettaiyan releases in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, and Kannada.

The Tamil version saw an occupancy of 54.95 percent, while the Telugu version saw 35.73 per cent. The Hindi and Kannada version saw 9.17 and 8.90 percent occupancy, respectively. Rajinikanth's previous film, Jailer, earned a total of 48.35 crore in India last year, and ultimately became one of the biggest hits of Tamil cinema.

Vettaiyan is also expected to benefit from the holiday weekend, which attracts the family audiences in large numbers.

Currently, the highest grossing film of the year has been Vijay's The Greatest of All Time, which has earned a worldwide gross of Rs 450 crores at the box office. It remains to be seen if Vettaiyan can beat these figures. Rajinikanth will next be seen in Lokesh Kanagaraj's Coolie.