Vettaiyan box office day 1: Rs 25 crore opening for Rajinikanth-Amitabh film

Vettaiyan Box office collection day 1

The TJ Gnanavel film, Starring Rajinikanth and Amitabh Bachchan is off to a good start. The film has registered an opening of over Rs 25 crore in India. 

Box Office numbers  

TJ Gnanavel’s Vettaiyan hit theaters on October 10 and had a strong opening day, earning approximately ₹25.27 crore across all languages in India.

On its first day, the film saw an overall occupancy of 53.96% in the Tamil sector, 34.15% in Telugu, 8.11% in Hindi, and 10.79% in Kannada.

However, reactions on social media have been mixed. While some viewers praise the cast and direction, others find the film lacking. One fan on X highlighted the strengths of Vettaiyan, describing the screenplay as "interesting" and noting that it tackles important societal issues.

“Thalaivar leads the way and carries the movie on his shoulders but he is not alone which is the best part,” adding, “We can always get just a mass film or just a social message related film but it's very rare to find a film that hits the bullseye”.

Another fan wrote that it was no Jailer and that the mass scenes ‘fall flat’ writing, “Not a regular Rajinikanth movie, it's more of a Gnanavel Movie. Content is good but most of the mass scenes fall flat. FahadhFaasil the show stealer. Rajini-Fafa Combo scenes were refreshing. Worth watching in theaters and don't expect a Jailer.”

About the Film 

The film centers on Sharanya (Dushara Vijayan), a government school teacher in Kanyakumari, who uncovers the drug trade surrounding her school. Kanyakumari SP Athiyan (Rajinikanth), known for his encounter killings, takes on the case. He apprehends the drug lord and serves "justice" through an encounter, but this case marks the start of a much bigger scandal.

The film features Manju Warrier, Amitabh Bachchan, Fahadh Faasil, Rana Daggubati, and Ritika Singh. Vettaiyan is notable for being Rajinikanth and Amitabh's first collaboration in 33 years since the 1991 Hindi film Hum, and it also marks Amitabh’s debut in Tamil cinema.

According to Hindustan times, Director TJ Gnanavel has tried to combine “numerous issues in Vettaiyan. While he tries to tackle the morality of police encounter killings on one hand, he delves into the coaching business in the country. He shows us that the coaching business, especially for exams like NEET, has a dark side where those who can’t afford the high fees get trapped into bank loans and EMIs and eventually see ruin”.

“Unfortunately, director Gnanavel is unable to balance Rajinikanth’s star power with his social discourse on these themes and this is what affects the film,” read the review.