Superstar Rajinikanth has once again proved his box office dominance, this time in spectacular fashion with the release of Coolie. Directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj, the much-anticipated action drama has shattered records on its very first day in North America, earning an estimated USD 2.9 million from its premiere day shows alone as per distributor Prathyangira Cinemas.What makes this number remarkable is not just the sheer scale of the opening but the fact that Coolie has already become the 9th biggest Tamil grosser ever in North America beating Kamal Haasan’s Vikram( ( USD 2.84 million) coincidentally also directed by Lokesh Kanagraj . With these numbers Rajinikanth was not only able to dethrone Vikram but also went passed his other two films Vettiyan ( USD 2.83 million ) and Petta ( USD 2.51 million) While, Vikram, Petta and Vettaiyan achieved their totals over several weeks of play, Coolie has managed to match or surpass those numbers within hours. The performance r underlines the unprecedented pre-release buzz around the film, driven by the high-profile pairing of Rajinikanth and Lokesh Kanagaraj. The latter is one of Tamil cinema’s most sought-after directors, and his collaboration with the Superstar for the first time had already generated a level of anticipation that translated directly into massive advance bookings.Given that Coolie’s opening day is not yet over, the film is well on track to break into the top 10 biggest Tamil films in North America before the day concludes. In fact, early forecasts suggest that by the time full day-one figures are tallied, Coolie could land in the 8th position on the all-time list.This kind of start all but guarantees that Coolie will be a dominant force in the coming days. If the positive audience reception matches the hype and early social media chatter indicates it does the film could aim for an even higher rank, possibly challenging the top five Tamil grossers in the market.
