Kamal Haasan's Thug Life Struggles at the Box Office Amid Controversy
Thug Life Faces Challenges Post-Release
The anticipation for Thug Life was immense, marking the long-awaited collaboration between director Mani Ratnam and actor Kamal Haasan, following their iconic film Nayakan from 1987. However, the film encountered significant hurdles as it was not released in Karnataka due to ongoing disputes stemming from Haasan's comments regarding the Kannada language.
The audience's reaction to the film has been mixed, and its box office performance has been disappointing, struggling to surpass the Rs 50 crore milestone. Here’s a look at the box office figures for Thug Life after its first week.
Box Office Performance on Day 7
Thug Life experienced a decline in box office momentum as it wrapped up its first week. Preliminary estimates indicate that the film earned Rs 1.25 crore on its seventh day, bringing its total earnings for the week to Rs 42.25 crore across all languages.
The film debuted strongly with Rs 15.5 crore on its opening day, but saw a drastic 53.87% drop on Day 2, earning only Rs 7.15 crore. A slight recovery occurred on Day 3 with Rs 7.75 crore, reflecting an 8.39% increase. However, Day 4 saw another decline to Rs 6.5 crore, followed by a significant drop to Rs 2.3 crore on Day 5, marking a 64.62% decrease. The downward trend continued on Day 6, with the film earning just Rs 1.8 crore, a 21.74% fall from the previous day.
Financial Losses Due to Controversy
Reports suggest that the film could incur losses ranging from Rs 35-40 crore in gross box office collections and Rs 12-15 crore in distributor share due to its ban in Karnataka, as noted by a local media outlet.
The controversy began during the audio launch of Thug Life in Chennai, where Haasan paid an emotional tribute to his Tamil heritage, stating, 'Uyire Urave Tamizhe,' which translates to 'My life and my family is Tamil.' He also acknowledged Kannada superstar Shivarajkumar, emphasizing the connection between the Tamil and Kannada languages.
Star-Studded Cast
Thug Life features a talented ensemble cast, including Trisha, Silambarasan, Abhirami, Sanya Malhotra, Ashok Selvan, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Joju George, Nassar, Ali Fazal, Pankaj Tripathi, Rohit Saraf, and Vaiyapuri.