Rajinikanth’s Coolie, directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj, released in theatres on 14 August 2025 with its box offices ablaze, grossing a whopping Rs 35.51 crore in India for all languages and the worldwide collection is expected to be Rs 155-165 crore. The gangster action drama, produced by Sun Pictures, saw packed houses, especially in South India, celebrating the thronged occasion of the superstar’s entering into his 50th year in cinema.
Unprecedented Occupancy in South India
As far as occupancy figures were concerned, Coolie was astoundingly dominant within Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka. As for Tamil occupancy, overall it stood at 81.95 %. In cities like Chennai, Coimbatore, Pondicherry, and Salem, the occupancies were highly close at 97 -99 % full.
Bengaluru led with 88 % , while Kochi and Trivandrum from Kerala managed with 84 % and 67%, respectively. The Telugu version of the film reached sky-high: 91.25%. This was evidence of Rajinikanth’s pan-South appeal.
The Hindi markets opened on a slow note, with Mumbai reporting only 46% and NCR at 38.50%. Perhaps that has something to do with War 2. The festive Independence Day increased the excitement among fans, while videos with people dancing with posters, drowned in milk on social media, diverted the attention of many.
Record Breaking Advance Bookings
The film’s pre-release excitement translated into record-breaking advance bookings, estimated to net ₹108 crore globally, including ₹50 crore from India and ₹58 crore overseas. Tamil Nadu alone contributed over ₹27 crore in bookings while North America boasted of Coolie as the first Tamil film to exceed $2 million in premiere pre-sales.
This broke the record previously held by Leo (₹100 crore) and placed Coolie for an opening day beyond ₹150 crore, an achievement that would mark all-time biggest opener. Nagarjuna, Shruti Haasan, and Aamir Khan in a cameo were part of the star-studded cast, fuelling expectations.
Mixed Reviews Awaiting High Hopes
At the box office, Coolie shone bright like a diamond, but critics reviews were mixed. Fans took X to rave about Rajinikanth’s “vintage swag” and what they characterised as Anirudh Ravichander’s pulsating score, which they dubbed a “mass tsunami.” And North India is going crazy over Coolie.
North Indian Reviews are Lit AF 💥🔥💥🔥#Coolie in North India is gonna run a Raging Uncastrated Stallion 💥💥💥💥
Vera Mari… Vera Mari… 🙏🙏🙏 pic.twitter.com/WCqawRLYMZ
— Sathyan Ramasamy (@DotSathyan) August 14, 2025
#coolie Review pic.twitter.com/MYkzFFps44
— Mind off Person (@SK_Tarock) August 14, 2025
While some audience criticised the second half for being too stretched out. Many found Lokesh Kanagaraj’s direction uneven and called this his “weakest” film yet. Still, the action-drama created buzz in theatres with the Rajinikanth charm and set the pace for a blockbuster weekend.
