Filmmaker Mani Ratnam’s latest blockbuster Ponniyin Selvan I has contributed massively in adding the recovery of the box office. It has been a fantastic year for Tamil cinema. All the pent-up demands of the lockdown drove the box office collections across the state, giving a much-needed respite to stakeholders.
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Ponniyin Selvan I was a huge gamble of Mani Ratnam. It was not just the most ambitious film of the filmmaker but also the most expensive film in his career, spanning over four decades. Despite the high cost involved in making this, Ratnam retained his sober style of narration and didn’t compromise his vision to make it looks appealing to a wider audience. Result: Tamil audiences across the country and around the world appreciated his effort and intention by showing up in huge numbers at the cinemas. Even as there were complaints about the film’s ‘slow pace’, it didn’t stop the movie from breaking the box office records of previous blockbusters and creating new ones.
One cannot deny the effect of PS:1’s humongous success on the way future big-budget blockbusters will be made. This film has shown that a filmmaker can boldly spend on his vision without compromising his artistic integrity and still be victorious.
The producers of PS:1 have not been very forthcoming about the cost they incurred making PS:1. Mani Ratnam and his team of master filmmakers shot both parts of the film in a single stretch spanning 150 days. And to mount such a massive production in such a short time is a record in itself. However, it helped the producers to save a lot of money. Some media reports estimate that the cost of making this film would have been somewhere between Rs 400 crore and Rs 500 crore. And on Thursday, Lyca Production declared that the film’s collection touched Rs 400 crore from its worldwide ticket sales. The film is also showing no signs of slowing down at the box office thanks to the festive season.
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Here are the few box office records that were broken by PS: 1.
Biggest opening in 20 years for Mani Ratnam
PS:1 gave the biggest-ever opening in the career of Mani Ratnam. The filmmaker never saw such an opening since he refined his storytelling style and tilted towards a nuanced portrayal of life as opposed to churning out crowd-pleasers. The film debuted at the Tamil Nadu box office by bringing in over Rs 22 crore in the collection. Its worldwide gross on day one was about Rs 80 crore.
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All-time record in Tamil Nadu!
PS:1 became the fastest film to breach the Rs 100 mark at the box office in Tamil Nadu. The film managed to show the actual strength of the box office market of Tamil Nadu after a long time. According to trade analyst Ramesh Bala, the film’s collection so far is more than Rs 180 crore, beating the records, which were previously held by the likes of Vikram, Baahubali 2, 2.0.
No 1 Tamil film overseas
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PS:1 has emerged as the number 1 Tamil film not just in its home state but also in several international markets. It’s the first Tamil film to overtake the collections of Rajinikanth movies in countries like Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, and other European countries.
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Outearned Rajinikanth movies in the US
The US is traditionally the stronghold of the Telugu film industry. Rarely a Tamil film has made a dent like Baahubali 2 in the US, except for a few Rajinikanth movies. PS: 1 has sold tickets worth of over $6 million in the US, overtaking the lifetime collections of Rajinikanth’s Kabali($4.61 million) and 2.0 ($5.2 million). It enjoys the distinction of being the first non-Rajinikanth film to breach the $4 million mark at the US box office.
Vikram’s lifetime collection
Even in its third week, PS:1 has retained a substantial amount of screens in Tamil Nadu. The demand for this film is such that many theatres reportedly want to continue the screening of this film even as there are two big films, Prince and Sardar, getting ready to open in cinemas this Deepavali. It’s said that PS:1 is running on about 500 screens in Tamil Nadu in its third week. At this pace, PS: 1 will overtake the lifetime worldwide collection of Kamal Haasan’s latest blockbuster Vikram, which is pegged at Rs 430 crore, in no time.
