Leo, Vijay’s next big release, is still half a year away from release. The much-anticipated film is slated to hit the screens in October this year. However, as per multiple reports, the film has already done a pre-release business of a whopping Rs 410 crore, showing just how heavily-anticipated this film is.
Leo, directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj, also stars Trisha Krishnan, Sanjay Dutt, Arjun, and Priya Anand among others. The film was earlier tentatively titled Thalapathy 67 (on account of being Vijay’s 67th film) and it’s official title was only revealed last month. And while the shoot may still be on, Leo has already ‘earned’ its producers over Rs 400 crore in pre-release business, establishing itself as one of the biggest Tamil films of all time.
On Thursday, it was reported that Phars Films, the company that has distributed several Indian films in the past, has acquired the overseas distribution rights of Leo. Sacnilk reported that the deal was finalised in Rs 60 crore, which is the all-time record for any Tamil film. Earlier it had been reported that the Indian distribution rights for the film have been sold for over Rs 110 crore, which would take the overall global distribution rights earnings of the film to around Rs 170-175 crore, a massive number.
But that is not all. The sale of digital and cable rights of Leo have also generated huge amounts. As per multiple reports, Netflix has purchased the streaming rights of the film for Rs 120 crore. In addition, Sun TV has bought the cable rights of Leo. Many reports have put the cable rights deal at Rs 100 crore even though the production has not yet verified the figure. Then there are the music rights, which have reportedly been purchased by Sony Music for Rs 16 crore.
All of this put together gives the Vijay-starrer a pre-release business of over Rs 400 crore with some trade sources putting the figure at Rs 413 crore, the highest for any Tamil film in history. This buzz had raised expectations from the action thriller, which is set to hit the screens on October 19.
