Rajinikanth’s latest spectacle, Coolie, hit theatres on August 14 with fireworks both on screen and at the box office. Crowds turned up before sunrise, tickets sold out in minutes, and early numbers hint at one of the biggest openings in Tamil cinema history.
Fans Turn Theatres into Stadiums
At 4 a.m., in parts of Tamil Nadu, you’d be forgiven for thinking there was a cricket final. Drums, fireworks, milk poured over giant cut-outs — the rituals that mark a Rajini release were in full swing.
Queues wrapped around blocks, with some fans carrying folding chairs for the long wait. Inside, whistles and chants made dialogue almost optional. The excitement wasn’t confined to the south either; multiplexes in Mumbai and Delhi reported unusually strong morning footfalls for a Tamil release.
Even in Singapore, a handful of companies gave employees the day off to catch the first show — a perk that would make HR departments anywhere else raise an eyebrow.
An Opening Day Worth Watching
Trade analysts are buzzing. Advance bookings topped ₹51 crore worldwide — ₹37 crore overseas and ₹14 crore domestic — before the first frame rolled. Independence Day falling on a Thursday has given the film a dream runway for its first weekend.
Day-one gross could hit ₹150 crore globally, with India’s share potentially crossing ₹90–100 crore net. That would beat the opening hauls of Leo and 2.0, setting a new personal best for Rajinikanth.
Some industry trackers think Hindi markets could surprise. What was initially pegged at ₹1.5 crore in Hindi collections is now projected near ₹5 crore, thanks largely to Aamir Khan’s cameo pulling in curious viewers beyond the Tamil-speaking audience.
| Metric | Estimate (Day 1) |
|---|---|
| India Net Collections | ₹90–100 crore |
| Overseas Gross | ₹37 crore |
| Worldwide Gross | ₹150 crore |
The question is whether word-of-mouth can sustain those figures through week one.
Star Cast, Star Moments
Lokesh Kanagaraj has packed the frame with familiar faces. Nagarjuna plays a measured but magnetic supporting role, one that fans say anchors the narrative. Shruti Haasan brings style and steel in equal measure, with several reviewers calling her the “main highlight” of the ensemble.
Aamir Khan’s 15-minute appearance as gangster Dahaa, shot in Rajasthan, is already a talking point. He reportedly agreed to the part without reading the script — a gesture of respect for Rajini. The gamble seems to have paid off, with applause breaking out mid-scene in many theatres.
Pooja Hegde appears in a special number, “Monica,” choreographed for maximum crowd reaction. Anirudh’s soundtrack, heavy on percussion and bass drops, ensures those scenes thump as loudly in the chest as in the ears.
Social Media’s Split Verdict
On X (formerly Twitter), two narratives are running in parallel.
Some posts read like love letters: “Vintage Rajini is back,” “One-man show,” “Worth the 4 a.m. showtime.” Aamir Khan’s cameo is getting particularly warm mentions.
Others are less kind. Criticism centers on the screenplay’s second half, with terms like “dragging,” “predictable,” and “cartoonish” popping up in hashtags. A few disappointed viewers have even tagged it a “letdown” for Lokesh Kanagaraj, whose previous hits set a high bar for taut storytelling.
One widely shared post summed it up bluntly:
“First half — fireworks. Second half — nap time.”
Whether that sentiment spreads or fades will likely shape the film’s longer-term prospects.
A Rajini Film Is Still a Festival
For many fans, criticism hardly matters. Rajini’s releases are less about plot precision and more about event status. The man’s screen presence — quick turns of the head, that half-smile before a punchline — still triggers the same response it did decades ago.
There’s also a thread of nostalgia here. Lokesh has woven in nods to Rajini’s earlier hits, including a few blink-and-miss gestures that die-hard fans caught instantly.
And for the director’s followers, there’s another game in play: spotting possible connections to his broader cinematic universe. Whether those teases actually lead somewhere remains to be seen, but they’ve kept social media guessing since the first teaser dropped.
The Business Beyond the Buzz
From a distribution standpoint, Coolie is a significant play. Overseas markets, particularly the Gulf and Southeast Asia, have become vital for big Tamil releases, and Coolie’s pre-release performance there has been strong.
In India, it’s releasing across more non-Tamil screens than any previous Rajinikanth film, reflecting a push to tap into pan-Indian revenue. The strategy mirrors what worked for KGF: Chapter 2 and RRR, but those films had built-in multi-language fanbases from the start. Coolie’s test will be whether that approach works without extensive Hindi dubbing promotion.
What Could Shift the Trajectory
A few factors could tilt Coolie’s fate:
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Weekday Retention: If it can keep 50% of its Day-1 numbers into Monday, it’s likely headed past the ₹500 crore mark in weeks.
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Family Audiences: The Independence Day opening means many younger viewers are free this weekend. Sustaining family turnout will help pad weekday shows.
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Critical Narrative: Mixed reviews aren’t fatal for a mass entertainer, but if they harden into a consensus, second-week drop-off could be steep.
For now, the first round has gone to Rajinikanth and his team. The box-office scoreboard over the next ten days will decide whether Coolie is just a loud festival or a historic record-breaker.
