Suriya’s latest Karuppu, with the score by Sai Abhyankkar, has crushed theaters in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and the world. The premiere of the movie was a huge hit, and its early run would set new records for Tamil box office receipts. Karuppu had a global record of about ₹68.5 crore to open with on its debut day, which immediately put it very near the top of South Indian cinema opens.
That’s more impressive yet: the Day 2 collections are outpacing Day 1 collections, which is testament to good word-of-mouth and repeat attendance. Industry observers, however, are predicting a ₹100 crore weekend and the film is set to become a major blockbuster by market yardstick.
The audience reception was so great that the housefull shows have allegedly been said to have been had in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. And beyond, abroad, this film is no stranger to the audience at screenings in packed US, UK, Middle East and Southeast Asia. The global distribution of the film also underscores Suriya’s pan-Indian star-power and RJ Balaji’s knack for developing a story with a universal resonance.
Complicating the buzz even more, Karuppu achieved more than 1 million tickets sold on BookMyShow in two days and it’s a record-breaking success, and demonstrates that the movie has already found favor with its audience.
Thanks also with social media, full of celebratory posts, reviews and videos of viewers cheering in auditoriums, the hype has only expanded. Pumping a big fan base with a combination of Suriya and RJ Balaji would seem like a recipe for success. RJ Balaji was a film director, not only a funny one but an important one. Sai Abhyankkar’s music, has also been instrumental, thanks to the soundtrack, a hit ever since, also adding to the film’s emotional and energetic strength.
If Karuppu is a commercial success as loud as it is a cultural moment for Tamil cinema, it is also a commercial success, too and not only a cultural one. It reflects the increasing international presence of South Indian cinema and the power of stars like Suriya to reach people beyond the language and geography boundaries.
And as the film heads into its first weekend, the movie has been in the first two days off and here we’re seeing people in the first weekend of the film how many miles it can go to play and see how far it can move beyond the box office, but this is one thing that the critics should definitely know: Karuppu is now etched in history books and is a true blockbuster.
