The 2026 “Pongal War” is finally at the threshold and the first sets are in full swing. Thrashing off the previous and rivaling festive rival, Sivakarthikeyan’s ‘Parashakti,’ Thalapathy Vijay’s last cinematic date, Jana Nayagan has outpaced pre-booking windows there by almost 12 times. In fact, with the big release looming on January 9th, the box office show that Vijay’s “swan song” is not only a film release, this one seems to also be a large culture event that is sweeping overseas as well as in the country at the same time.
The Numbers: A 12-Fold Dominance
The discrepancy between the two films is enormous, as per the latest tracking data from industry outlets including Sacnilk. In the past 24 hours of selling, ‘Jana Nayagan’ was sold around 131,830 tickets on the popular BookMyShow platform. By contrast, 'Parashakti,' despite its high buzz and anticipation from critics, managed to sell 10,300 tickets over the same period.
Key Advance Booking Stats (as at Jan 7, 2026):
Total Tickets Sold (1st day): More than 2,73,000 Jana Nayagan
- Domestic Gross: ₹7.28 Crore (India Nett), with Karnataka being the biggest in terms of Gross of ₹3.54 crore.
- Overseas Power: Just Malaysia has even fueled a record sales pre-sale of 50,000 tickets in just two hours.
- Price Point: Jana Nayagan sells at ₹2,000 in major hubs like Bengaluru with early morning 6:30 a.m. shows already sold out.
Why the Massive Gap?
Though Sivakarthikeyan is undoubtedly among the most bankable stars in Kollywood these days, there’s no other such “Vijay Factor” this year.
- The Goodbye Magic: Vijay’s last movie is billed as Jana Nayagan before he embarks on full-time politics with Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK). People flock to theaters to watch a 33-year-old acting career winding down.
- Screen count edge: Jana Nayagan will be up to 600 screens in Tamil Nadu alone, while Parashakti is set for 450.
- The Great Goliath: Vijay’s global pull: Vijay’s presence overseas has propelled pre-sales to over ₹25 crore overseas pre-sale in such global proportions (in Malaysia and the UK), driving overseas pre-sales ₹25 crore, spreading Parashakti into the global reach.
Parashakti: The Battle David vs Goliath
Notwithstanding the skewed numbers, it would be misguided to disregard 'Parashakti'. Sudha Kongara directs the movie, which is a political drama rooted in the 1960s. Sivakarthikeyan films generally have enormous "long-tail" potential, usually gaining enormous momentum through word-of-mouth advertising after the opening day craze over bigger, star-oriented films is forgotten.
Parashakti makers had chosen to release the film a day later, Jan. 10, to avoid a front-on collision and make sure that both films could be released during the festive 10-day Pongal holidays.
Censorship Problems and Trade Strife
The competition is not confined to ticket sales alone. Both films faced significant delays in opening bookings in Tamil Nadu due to pending CBFC (Censor Board) certifications. While Jana Nayagan did go through Madras High Court, the delay has left many aficionados on edge. Also, theater owners are worried about the high revenue sharing requirements (up to 80%) of the Jana Nayagan distributors, which have made their movies slow to get booked in other rural pockets.
Whatever the behind-the-scenes drama that unfolds, the verdict from the audience is pretty clear: We’re ready to send Thalapathy Vijay a historic send-off.
