Vishal's "Poojai" has fared well at the Chennai box office despite facing strong competition from Vijay's "Kaththi," which has taken the box office by storm.
"Poojai" took a good opening and the film's Chennai collections stand at ₹1.13 crore since its release till 26 October, according to Behindwoods. The Vishal starrer witnessed an average theatre occupancy of 85% during the weekend at the Chennai box office.
Although "Poojai" hit the screens on the same day as "Kaththi", it has managed to sustain its business at the box office. "Kaththi" is dominating the Chennai box office, followed by "Poojai." The Vishal starrer has given the actor his best ever opening in Tamil Nadu by minting approximately ₹4.10 crore at the TN-Kerala box office. The film continued to perform well, owing to the long holiday weekend and ended the first five days on a good note.
The Telugu version of the film titled "Pooja" has also performed well at the box office. The film was released along with the Tamil version on 22 October. With no other big releases, "Pooja" took a good opening and reportedly minted ₹1 crore share on its opening day at the AP/Nizam box office. But with the release of Shah Rukh Khan's "Happy New Year" and Nikhil Siddharth's "Karthikeya", "Pooja" collections are expected to drop.
The Vishal starrer has also done a decent business in the overseas markets. The Tamil version has minted $16,968 and 568,811 MYR (Malaysian Ringitt) in its opening weekend at the Australia and Malaysia box office, respectively, according to Bollywood Hungama.
It remains to be seen as to how the film fares in the coming days. Will it be able to hold well is something one needs to wait and watch.
Directed by Hari, "Poojai" is touted to be an action entertainer with all the commercial elements. After experimenting with his roles in films like "Pandiya Naadu" and "Naan Sigappu Manithan," Vishal has returned to doing what he is best at – action. Meanwhile, Shruti Haasan has made her comeback to the Tamil industry nearly after three years. Her last film "7 aum Arivu" hit the screens in 2011.
"Poojai" also boasts of an ensemble cast, including Radhika, Mukesh Tiwari, Jayaprakash, Abhinaya, Sitara, Kausalya, Manobala and Soori among others. Yuvan Shankar Raja has composed the songs, while VIshal Film Factory banner has produced the commercial potboiler.
