There was a time when Rs 100 crore was the benchmark of a film’s success. Any star with more than one Rs 100-crore hits was called a superstar. And it was for a reason; there were very few such films. With inflation, 100-crore grew passe and Bollywood moved to Rs 200-300 crore clubs. But still, one thing remained constant. Not many actors could give Rs 200-crore films repeatedly. Then one man changed that. This star from the Tamil industry – no, it’s not Rajinikanth or Kamal Haasan – has given eight consecutive Rs 200-crore films.
India’s box office king
Vijay, known in his fandom as Thalapathy Vijay, is the reigning king of Tamil cinema. Over the last decade, the actor has snatched that crown from veterans Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan and put considerable distance between himself and contemporary stars like Ajith Kumar, Suriya, and Dhanush. While the others – barring Rajini and Kamal – are content with Rs 100-crore hits, Vijay has been churning out Rs 200-crore blockbusters for close to 10 years now. Even the films that have not been ‘super hits’ have earned more than some of his rivals’ biggest hits. For instance, his 2022 release Beast was labelled underwhelming by many. It still earned Rs 220 crore worldwide, more than any of Dhanush or Suriya’s films.
Thalapathy Vijay’s enviable run of Rs 200-crore films
Since 2017, Vijay has appeared in eight films in the lead role and all of them have grossed over Rs 200 crore worldwide. Four of these eight feature in the top 10 highest grossing Tamil films of all time. The sequence begins with Mersal (Rs 210 crore), and continues with Sarkar (Rs 245 crore), Bigil (Rs 285 crore), Master (Rs 260 crore), Beast (Rs 220 crore), and Varisu (Rs 300 crore). Since 2023, Vijay has taken his box office dominance a notch higher. Last year, he gave Leo, one of the highest-grossing Tamil films ever with a worldwide gross of over Rs 600 crore. This year, he has starred in GOAT (The Greatest of All Time), which has already crossed Rs 280 crore in its opening weekend and looks set to cross Rs 400 crore by the end of its run.
How Vijay beat Bollywood biggies
Vijay’s success at the box office lies in his unreal consistency. All other big actors have seen failures, some multiple. Before his current miracle run, Shah Rukh Khan had not had a blockbuster in four years. Salman Khan, Aamir Khan, and Akshay Kumar are all going through a lean patch. Even Prabhas delivered back-to-back flops before Salaar and Kalki arrived. Vijay, on the other hand, is flopless since 2016, a testament to why he is the best bet at the Indian box office currently.
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