Jul 21, 2026 12:45pm IST
Trade Talk: Thalapathy Vijay’s ‘Jana Nayagan’ Set To Take A Global Opening of ₹100 Crore
After facing multiple obstacles, including trouble with the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) and suffering an online leak before its theatrical release, actor-turned-politician C. Joseph Vijay, aka Thalapathy Vijay's farewell film, is finally releasing this Thursday (July 23) in cinemas.
Originally scheduled to hit the screens on January 9, the film faced a six-month delay due to certification complications and the Model Code of Conduct enforced during the Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections.
As the film records a strong start in advance bookings, Variety India talks to trade experts about its box-office potential and whether the leak is likely to affect its collections.
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Big Opening But No Repeat Value
Ramesh Bala, prominent trade expert from Chennai, says that while the film will enjoy a great opening, it won't have repeat value. "It will certainly have a big opening. Since it also faced piracy and the entire movie was leaked before the election, many people have already watched it. So, that is one thing we have to factor in. But it will get a great opening because fans want to celebrate. The only factor is whether it will have a repeat audience. Whether people will come for the second weekend? We don't know that," says Bala.
Predicting the opening day global figure, he adds, "For opening day, I expect something between ₹75 to ₹100 crore worldwide. Because movies like 'Leo' have done ₹150 crore, but this will not do those numbers. I hope it will do somewhere in the ₹100 crore range."
Can Jana Nayagan Become Vijay's biggest Opener in Hindi?
Prominent exhibitor and director of Aashirwad Theatres Pvt Ltd, Akkshay Rathie, opines that the film will open well and won't find tough competition in "The Odyssey." In fact, it may surprise with pleasant numbers. "'Jana Nayagan and 'The Odyssey,' at least in the Hindi-speaking belt, cater to two very contrasting audiences. One is an out-and-out single-screen mass entertainer, and 'The Odyssey' is led by premium large formats, the metros, and more so, to say, the audience that's evolved with the taste of Christopher Nolan's kind of cinema. So, I don't think they will have any impact on each other. 'Jana Nayagan' by itself, especially with the hype generated by Thalapathy Vijay's political career and huge victory, I think will actually open to very pleasant numbers, and who knows, it could actually, despite the leaks that had happened earlier in piracy, might turn out to be one of his biggest openers in the Hindi-speaking markets, as well as in Tamil cinema."
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