"Thalaivaa" continues to perform well in the UK, even after its third weekend. The Vijay starrer which earned ₹2.37 crore at the end of the third weekend is doing good business even in weekdays.
According to film critic and trade analyst Taran Adarsh, "Thalaivaa" raked in ₹2.52 crore till Wednesday night (28 August) at the UK box office.
"Tamil film #Thalaivaa *total till Wed night* UK £ 240,572 [Rs 2.52 cr]. HIT," Taran tweeted.
The action-drama flick scored big against a few films that have hit the screens in the UK. Despite receiving mixed reports, "Thalaivaa" managed to pull the crowd to theatres.
"Thalaivaa" has better collections than Hindi film "Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai Dobaara" (OUATMD). According to Taran, "OUATIMD" fetched £ 1,80,551 at the end of the second weekend, whereas Vijay's "Thalaivaa" earned £ 213,251 after its second weekend. [Note: The number of screens for these films varies]
However, "Thalaivaa" was not able to gross more than Shah Rukh Khan's "Chennai Express" which still continues to dominate the international markets including the UK box office in its third week. The action-comedy film minted around ₹19 crore at the end of the third weekend.
"Chennai Express" even dominated the Tamil Nadu box office, thanks to the delay in "Thalaivaa" release. But, once "Thalaivaa" issues were sorted out and the film made it to theatres, the Vijay starrer took over "Chennai Express" and embarked on a fantastic start.
"Thalaivaa" released on 20 August (Tuesday) in Tamil Nadu and still has a good run at the box office. It remains to be seen if the film will be able to maintain its momentum even during its second weekend (30-1 August) in TN as four Tamil films are releasing this Friday (30 August).
Vijay's film has a better chance to continue its good run at the Tamil Nadu box office, as the four new films are releasing without any publicity or star value.
"Thalaivaa" Not Based on life of Community Leader
"Thalaivaa" faced a number of issues that affected the film's release. One such issue is a civil suit filed by S.K.R. Karnan of Tirunelveli, who claimed that "Thalaivaa" story is based on the real life of his grandfather S.S. Kandasamy Sait and his father S.K. Ramasamy who were well-known among Tamils in Dharavi, Mumbai. Karnan had said that "Thalaivaa" had shown the lives of his family members in poor light.
In response to the civil suit, "Thalaivaa" director AL Vijay submitted that the film is not based on the life of the community leader and not even a single incident shown in the film had any similarities with the lives of those two leaders.
The judge will pronounce orders in the case on 10 September.
