Sivaji Today: First Day Rs 1.7 crore

Sivaji The Boss to call the shots in tinsel town today, redefines big-budget films

Fans adore his silver-screen antics. His films are known to set new records at the box office and break them in style. And this Friday, when Kollywood superstar Rajnikanth's latest production Sivaji The Boss' is released, it is expected to create records in more ways than one.

The movie, with an estimated budget of Rs 60 crore is the costliest production in the history of Kollywood or Bollywood. Its world-wide release will make it, perhaps, the first Indian language movie to be screened in the largest number of theaters world over. The distributors of the movie claim it is a super hit, even before it hits theatres. Despite the feverish pitch generated by the Rajni starrer, the film's script remains a closely guarded secret even on the eve of its release. The only thing known about the storyline, as put by the superstar himself, is: 'it is all about black money, honey'.

P Saminathan, managing director, Pyramid Saimira Theatres Ltd, said: "It is a little known fact that south Indian films are costlier than north Indian movies. This film is possibly the costliest Indian film to date and might collect about Rs 150 crore plus, giving huge profit to distributors and exhibitors. It is being released in many countries and is expected to expand the market of the Tamil films world over. Going by advance reservations, the film is expected to be a major hit, breaking all records in the Indian film industry." According to reports, the collections on June 10 - the first day of advance bookings - were Rs 1.7 crore in Chennai alone, which is said to be a record in south India. The movie will be screened in 17 theatres across Chennai and tickets have been sold out for the first 12 days.

While GV Films and Abirami Ramanathan (owner of the multiplex Abirami Mega Mall) have bagged rights to distribute the movie within the city for Rs 6.5 crore, Pyramid Saimira and Ayngaran International have been given the overseas rights.

Pyramid Saimira has acquired rights to distribute Sivaji The Boss for Rs 25 crore in 252 screens across the world, including 110 screens in Andhra Pradesh, 86 screens in Tamil Nadu, four in Karnataka and 52 in Malaysia.