Thunivu box office collection day 1: Ajith Kumar’s action film takes top spot in Tamil Nadu

In recent years, South Indian movies — particularly Telugu language releases — have emerged as nationwide hits. Two Kannada language movies, KGF: Chapter 2 and Kantara, became runaway hits last year. Tamil cinema, which at one time used to have some of the country’s biggest stars, appears to have lost its sheen along with Bollywood. Both Vijay and Ajith are coming off of critical and commercial disappointments, in Beast and Valimai, respectively.

And if Thunivu’s opening day box office breakdown is any indication, there’s still a long way to go for every major South Indian movie to make a mark in the north. For instance, the film could only muster 30% occupancy in the National Capital Region on day one.

But local fans seem to have enjoyed it. Average occupancy for the Tamil version rose from 61% in the morning to 82% for the night shows. Chennai saw an average occupancy of 98.25% through the day, while Pondicherry saw 99.5% occupancy on day one.

Also starring Manju Warrier and Samuthirakani, Thunivu has received mixed reviews from critics. The Indian Express’ Kirhubhakar Purushothaman awarded it three out of five stars, and wrote in his review, “The style and the mystery of the first half quickly fizzle out post-interval, and the film starts telling one sob story after another, which is incongruous with the cold and dark nature of the film.”