Rajinikanth to beat Rajinikanth : ‘Coolie’ poised to break ‘Kabali’s’ 9 year old North American premiere day record

Nearly a decade after Rajinikanth rewrote overseas box office history with Kabali, the Superstar is now on the verge of breaking his own record this time with Lokesh Kanagaraj’s action spectacle Coolie.In 2016, Kabali stunned the industry with its reported North American premiere gross of USD 1.92 million from just 228 locations, setting the benchmark for the biggest Tamil premiere in the region.

That record has stood unchallenged for nine years — until now.According to the latest data, Coolie has already raked in USD 1.44 million from the USA alone and after including Canada sales the collection jumps to USD 1.7 million. With 4 more days to the release of the film and the speed with which tickets are being sold USD 1.92 million is well within grasp. In fact, the AMC chain of cinemas is yet to open its advance booking for the film and as per source it should start by tonight as it has already received the movie content.

When the chain opens its booking once can easily expect the collections to move past USD 2 million mark in no time. Directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj, the film boasts a star-studded ensemble including Nagarjuna, Soubin Shahir, Shruti Haasan, Sathyaraj, Upendra, and a special appearance by Aamir Khan. The mix of Tamil cinema’s biggest icon, cross-industry casting, and Kanagaraj’s action-packed narrative style has created massive anticipation across demographics.

If Coolie does indeed cross the $2 million milestone, it will not only dethrone Kabali but also set a new all-time record for Tamil premieres in North America —reaffirming Rajinikanth’s undisputed dominance on the global stage, nine years after he first set the bar.The film in India also has been generating a lot of buzz where till Sunday morning 11 AM the film has collected over Rs 16 crore for its first day collection.