Box office prediction: Will Vijay's Bairavaa cross Rajinikanth-starrer Kabali's opening day collection record in Kerala?

Kerala has proved to be a good market for other language movies with big budget Tamil and Hindi films often making big bucks in Kerala box office- Aamir Khan's Dangal, PK, Rajinikanth's Kabali and Ilayathalapathy Vijay's Theri, to name a few. 

Read: Kabali movie review

Vijay's upcoming movie Bairavaa is set to witness a good opening in Kerala as the superstar enjoys a huge fan following in the state. The high-voltage action thriller, which stars Keerthy Suresh as the female lead, will hit the screens on January 12. Though there is uncertainty regarding the theatre strike in Kerala, the tiff between the producers and distributors association is expected to be resolved during the board meeting on January 10. 

The Kerala theatrical rights of Bairavaa is said to have been acquired by a leading production house for a whopping Rs 7.3 crore- highest for a Vijay movie in Kerala. Bairavaa, if released on January 12 in Kerala, is expected to break the record of Vijay's previous release, Theri, which made approximately Rs 3.16 crore on the first day in the state. The movie, distributed by Friday Film House in association with Carnival Motion Pictures Pvt. Ltd, is believed to have made a staggering Rs 16.50 crore from the state and in turn becoming the biggest other language grosser till date.

Rajinikanth's family action thriller Kabali had clocked Rs 4.27 crore on the first day and is still on the top spot among the biggest opening other language films in the state. It remains to be seen whether Bairavaa can break the opening day record of Kabali.

Meanwhile, Mr Perfectionist Aamir' latest sports biopic Dangal, which narrates the story of three Indian wrestlers, has also been making good business in Kerla since its release on December 23. With no regional movies competing against the Bollywood flick due to the ongoing theatre strike in the state, Dangal is all set to become one of the biggest other language grosser in Kerala.

Here is the list of top (final) other language movies at the Kerala box office in 2016: