Actor-turned Tamil Nadu CM Vijay’s final film, Jana Nayagan, is finally set to release in theatres this week after a near seven-month delay. The film’s advance bookings opened on Sunday, four days before its release, and the response has been record-breaking. By Tuesday, July 21, the film had already sold over 6 lakh tickets for its opening day across India and is gearing up for one of the biggest openings for an Indian film this year.
Event Context
Jana Nayagan, directed by H Vinoth, is Vijay’s final film before his full-fledged move to politics. The film was slated for release in January but had to be delayed after it could not obtain the certification from the CBFC. In the meantime, Vijay’s TVK won the TN Assembly Elections, and the star took oath as the state’s CM. The film features a prominent ensemble cast, including Pooja Hegde, Bobby Deol, Mamitha Baiju, Gautham Vasudev Menon, Prakash Raj and Narain. The project has music by Anirudh Ravichander, cinematography by Sathyan Sooryan, and editing by Pradeep E Ragav.
Match Outlook
Jana Nayagan is aiming for one of the widest releases for an Indian film, with 8000 shows planned across India, including over 3500 in Tamil Nadu alone. The number is expected to increase by July 23, release day. According to Sacnilk, the film had grossed ₹13 crore for its opening day in advance bookings by 9 PM on Monday. By Tuesday morning, trade insiders estimated the figure to be around ₹15 crore. Globally, the advance bookings for Jana Nayagan have reached in excess of ₹27 crore for the first weekend. These are staggering numbers for a film primarily driven by only the Tamil market and having no pan-India aspirations whatsoever.
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According to reports, theatres in Tamil Nadu were struggling to meet the high demand for tickets to the film. PTI quoted a source in the Theatre Owners Association as saying that there was “tremendous pressure” for ticket bookings in the state. Tamil Nadu, where pre-sales began on July 19, reported phenomenal bookings, with single screens and multiplexes together selling over 90,000 tickets within hours of the window opening. Many shows for the opening day sold out in minutes after advance bookings began on Sunday. Others filled in over the next few hours. PTI reported that Kamala Cinemas in Chennai sold over 10,000 tickets within minutes of the portal opening, and Mayajaal Multiplex sold out 48 shows in less than an hour. The state government has capped ticket prices at ₹190 in Chennai.
