Tamil films have had a successful year at the box office so far. Several films brought audiences back to the theatre, including big-budget blockbusters and smaller, unexpected films. While Nelson and Rajinikanth’s is predicted to hit the ₹1,000 crore milestone, films like Dorothy and Modha Rathiri have hinted at the audience’s interest in stories beyond mainstream commercial cinema.
Jailer 2 has grossed ₹755.50 crore worldwide, emerging as the highest-grossing Tamil film of all time, reported The Hollywood Reporter. In contrast, , a film that explores masculinity and the transition of a trans woman, has earned ₹15.88 crore in India net collections despite a challenging release window.
Tamil film analyst Sreedhar Pillai told the publication that Dorothy was profitable from its theatrical run alone. “The audiences have paved the way for all this. I cannot imagine Dorothy running with this kind of success even one or two years back,” he said. Reportedly, the film’s appeal had extended beyond multiplexes to tier 2 and tier 3 cities.
Similarly, Raja Karuppasamy’s Modha Rathiri, which released on August 21, struggled to bring audiences during its initial days. Thanks to strong word of mouth and sustained promotions, the film ran in the ticket window for 55 days in theatres.
“For the first three days, there weren’t people in the theatres,” filmmaker Karuppasamy was quoted by the publication. “But once we started giving interviews and going to the theatres, people started coming to the theatres.”
The film tells the tragicomic story of a couple forced into marriage. It made its way into the hearts of the audience despite not featuring A-listers.
Pillai shared with The Hollywood Reporter that the theatrical run was key to its success. “The theatrical release is most essential. If Modha Rathiri had been released exclusively on streaming, it would’ve never had this kind of rave response,” he was quoted in the report.
The year also witnessed star-led successes such as Suriya’s and Soori’s Mandaadi, alongside much-smaller films like Blast and Vijay Sethupathi’s Baththa.
According to Pillai, the template for commercial cinema is changing. It is said that filmmakers are moving away from conventional star introductions and formulaic action sequences.
Even Rajinikanth has reportedly adapted to this shift, letting his supporting characters shine, unlike the traditional reserved for the lead.
Distributor Tiruppur Subramaniam told The Hollywood Reporter that audiences are increasingly willing to watch films of any scale as long as content is up to the mark. The report hints that Tamil cinema’s box office is no longer driven solely by star power or opening-day business.
