Vijay’s Leo scripts history in Kerala; sets record for highest opening day collection

Meanwhile, on the day of its release, the film performed remarkably well in Kerala, grossing Rs 12 crore in overall earnings, marking the highest Day One revenue in the state to date. Until yesterday, Prashanth Neel’s Yash-starrer KGF held the record for the highest opening day collection of Rs 7.25 crore in Kerala. Following KGF were VA Shrikumar’s Mohanlal-starrer Odiyan (Rs 6.76 crore) and Nelson’s Vijay-starrer Beast (Rs 6.6 crore). As many as 313 late-night shows of the movie took place in Kerala last night.

Ahead of the release of the movie, Sujith Nair from Dream Big Films, co-distributor of Leo in Kerala alongside Sree Gokulam Movies, informed The Indian Express that their target for the film’s Day One earnings in Kerala was over Rs 10 crore. However, there was a possibility of the film grossing Rs 12 crore if it received favourable reviews after the initial screenings, he had predicted. Now that the actual gross is more or less this figure, it seems that Sujith’s predictions were accurate.

The movie premiered in more than 650 out of a total of 750 screens in Kerala. Given the film’s favorable reviews, it is anticipated that Leo will enjoy a smooth run at theaters for approximately three weeks in the state.

Sujith also informed The Indian Express that unlike most films that experience high pre-release demand only on the first day, Leo was an exception. Numerous theatres, he said, have already reported full or 60-70 per cent occupancy for the majority of shows until Day 6.

Meanwhile, the film earned Rs 35 crore solely from the Tamil market and is also experiencing remarkable success in the overseas market. Apart from Vijay, Leo also stars Trisha, Sanjay Dutt, Arjun, Gautham Vasudev Menon, Mathew Thomas and Madonna Sebastian in key roles.

In its review of the film, The Indian Express noted that while Leo is undoubtedly a feather in Vijay’s cap, it is indeed a step back for writer-director Lokesh Kanagaraj.