'Leo' producer breaks silence on box office numbers controversy: 'Don't have any...'

Thalapathy Vijay-starrer ‘Leo’ is roaring at the box office currently. Since the film was released in theatres worldwide, the collection made by the film has been breaking several records, including becoming the third highest-grossing film in the history of Kollywood. However, recently, there have been a few claims that the box office collection doing rounds is actually fake. But, film producer SS Lalit Kumar has broken his silence and said he had no motive to fake the numbers.

Tamil Nadu Theatre Owners Association president Tirupur Subbramaniyan recently said theatres were unprofitable since they were required to give 80 per cent of the collected. He claimed that 'Leo' producers spent Rs 5 crores to manipulate online booking numbers.

Also Read: Thalapathy Vijay's 'Leo' not profitable for Tamil Nadu theatre owners, says Tirupur Subramanian

According to a Track Tollywood report, SS Lalit Kumar said, “We announced actual box office numbers without any exaggeration, 461 crores in 1st week is absolutely genuine. I don’t have any motive to fake the numbers, and the movie is doing very well in overseas. There is absolutely no need for proxy bookings.”

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Talking about the theatre association president accusing the Leo makers of asking for a higher share of the collection, the producer said that Subbramaniyan had requested Coimbatore’s release. But since the demand was refused, Subbramaniyan is making a baseless claim, Kumar said as per the report. 

He also added that the 80 per cent condition was only set in 42 theatres, not the majority of them. The producer also revealed that Netflix had acquired the film's OTT rights for a substantial amount, and he gave credit to director Lokesh for the film's success.

Meanwhile, ‘Leo’ has reportedly surpassed the Rs 300 crore mark at the Indian box office and Rs 500 crore globally.

‘Leo’ is the second collaboration between Lokesh Kanagaraj and Thalapathy Vijay after the 2021 superhit film Master. Along with Vijay, the film features Sanjay Dutt, Trisha Krishnan, Sanjay Dutt, Arjun Sarja, Gautham Vasudev Menon, Priya Anand, and Mysskin in prominent roles. The film was released in theatres on October 19.

Also Read: 'Leo' box office collection Day 10: Thalapathy Vijay's film sees higher footfalls, heading towards Rs 300 cr-mark in India