Ajith-starrer Thunivu earned Rs 200 crore worldwide at the box office, while Vijay's Varisu is still miles away from this coveted milestone, thus ending the debate over the winner of the mega Pongal movie clash.
Despite a shoddy screenplay, Thunivu made the most during the festival season due to Ajith's snarling outing as an anti-hero in the bank heist thriller, said tweets. Meanwhile, the Vijay-starrer has been beset by regular storyline and 'cringe' comedy, said tweets by general audience.
Trade analyst Manobala Vijaybalan said Thunivu earned Rs 224 crore in its ten-day theatrical release while Varisu was found lagging at Rs 171 crore collection. Ramesh Bala, another trade analyst, said Thunivu is the third Ajith movie to earn over Rs 200 crore gross at box office.
"After #Viswasam and #Valimai, #Thunivu becomes the 3rd movie of #AK to join the ₹ 200 Crs+ WW Gross Club," tweeted Bala.
Bala said word of mouth really helped Thunivu, directed by H Vinoth Kumar, create a sensation at box office.
"After it opened with a Bang on Day 1 at the TN Box office, never looked back.. Fans and youth were joined by all age audience once Bank scams message was out thru WOM.. Better screen count and Bigger audis were a plus," he tweeted.
Meanwhile, Varisu, which released on January 11 along with Thunivu, has been found to have lacklustre content, owing mainly to its director Vamshi Paidipally rehashing his own Telugu movies like Maharshi, Brindavanam. Despite rich production values (producer Dil Raju) and a hit single like Ranjithame, Varisu was found to be a paint-by-numbers drama that even its protagonist's honest portrayal couldn't infuse much life into the movie, suggested audience tweets.
Thunivu marks Ajith Kumar's third collaboration with director H Vinoth and producer Boney Kapoor.