With just a day left for its theatrical release, expectations are soaring for Jana Nayagan, the last film of actor-turned-Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay. After months of postponements, legal hurdles, certification issues and even a piracy leak, the H Vinoth directorial is finally heading to theatres amid unprecedented anticipation, with trade circles predicting a mammoth worldwide opening of over Rs 100 crore.
The film is set for one of the biggest releases ever mounted for a Tamil film, with around 8,000 shows planned across India, including more than 3,500 in Tamil Nadu. According to industry tracking website Sacnilk, Jana Nayagan had collected nearly Rs 15 crore in advance bookings for its opening day by Wednesday morning. When blocked seats are factored in, the figure reportedly crosses Rs 20 crore, with over 6.5 lakh tickets already sold for day one.
While the film has also crossed Rs 30 crore in global advance sales for its opening weekend, trade analysts point out that the overwhelming share of the bookings has come from the Tamil version. The response outside Tamil Nadu has remained comparatively muted, with limited advance sales in several North Indian territories.
Advance bookings are expected to accelerate in the final 24 hours before release. At present, Jana Nayagan trails Vijay's Leo, which had amassed around Rs 46 crore in advance sales, but it is expected to finish close to the pre-release numbers posted by The Greatest of All Time (GOAT), which had earned roughly Rs 29 crore before release.
Trade estimates currently place the film's India opening-day net collections in the Rs 55-60 crore range. If those projections materialise, Jana Nayagan would comfortably surpass the opening-day performance of GOAT (Rs 44 crore net), although it is still expected to remain behind Leo, which opened to around Rs 65 crore net in India.
The overseas market is likely to provide a significant boost to the film's global numbers. Strong business is expected from North America, the Middle East and Southeast Asia, with industry estimates suggesting an international day-one haul of over USD 4 million. That would push the film's worldwide opening beyond Rs 100 crore, with several trade observers predicting a figure of around Rs 105 crore.
If achieved, the milestone would make Jana Nayagan only the 19th Indian film to register a Rs 100 crore-plus opening worldwide and the third Tamil film to do so. It would also place the film ahead of the opening-day worldwide collections of GOAT (Rs 99 crore), Jailer (Rs 91 crore) and Pathaan (Rs 104 crore), though it is expected to remain behind Rajinikanth's Coolie, which currently holds the record for the biggest Tamil opener with approximately Rs 153 crore worldwide.
Also starring Pooja Hegde, Bobby Deol, Mamitha Baiju, Gautham Vasudev Menon, Prakash Raj and Narain, the film features music by Anirudh Ravichander, cinematography by Sathyan Sooryan and editing by Pradeep E Ragav.