Superstar Rajinikanth-Sonakshi Sinha starrer "Lingaa" has fetched £171,068 (₹1.68 crore) in the first weekend at the UK box office. The film has performed better than several new Bollywood releases including Ajay Devgn's "Action Jackson," Saif Ali Khan's "Happy Ending" and Emraan Hashmi's "Ungli." (Also Read: "PK" to Affect "Lingaa" Business at Box Office)
Although "Lingaa" took good openings in the UK, the film's collections seemed to have dropped since Saturday (13 December) due to mixed reviews. The Rajini starrer released with huge expectations, but the mixed feedback has affected the film's business and the word of mouth is also not very encouraging. While the film has minted £171,068 in its opening weekend, it needs to be seen as to how the action drama fares in the coming days.
As of now, Vijay's "Kaththi" and "Jilla" have taken the top two spots in the list of highest grossing Tamil films of 2014. "Kaththi has minted £333,522, while "Jilla" overall collections from UK stand at £243,029, reported Behindwoods. It might be difficult for "Lingaa" to surpass "Kaththi" collections and emerge on top considering that the film has been witnessing drop in its collections.
With the release of Aamir Khan's "PK," "Lingaa" business is expected to get affected from this week. "PK" is releasing in a huge number of screens on 19 December and the film might get a good screen count in UK as well. The release of "PK" might pose a threat to "Lingaa" business and the Rajini-starrer might notice further drop in its collections. One needs to wait and watch if the film manages to hold on well despite the release of "PK" at the UK box office.
The Rajini starrer has done fantastic business in other key overseas markets including US and Malaysia. The film has already emerged as the highest grossing Tamil film of 2014 by surpassing "Kochadaiiyaan" collections. It has also taken the second spot in the list of all-time highest grossing Tamil films of 2014 next to "Endhiran."
In Malaysia, "Lingaa" has topped the opening weekend box office and it needs to be seen if the film will be able to continue its good run and surpass "Kaththi," which is highest grossing Tamil film of the year in the country.
