Coolie box office collection Day 3: Rajinikanth starrer becomes fastest Tamil film to earn ₹300 crore worldwide, beats Vettaiyan and Mohanlal's Empuraan on opening weekend

Indian Express

16 hours ago

Coolie box office collection Day 3: Rajinikanth's box office fire is far from fading. Director Lokesh Kanagaraj's new film Coolie has not only set fan frenzy ablaze worldwide but is also ruling the global box office. Released on August 14, 2025, just a day before the Independence Day weekend, the movie clashed with Hrithik Roshan's War 2 but refused to slow down. In just three days, Coolie has stormed past the ₹300 crore mark, and the internet can't stop celebrating.
According to industry tracker Sacnilk, on its first day (Thursday), Coolie earned ₹65 crore net in India. On day 2 (Friday), it collected ₹54.75 crore (a slight drop but still massive). On day 3 (Saturday), early estimates showed around ₹38.5 crore, bringing the three-day India net total to ₹158.25 crore. Coolie's overseas earnings and the worldwide collection have already surpassed the 300 crore mark. According to one of the trade analysts, Sumit Kadel, Coolie has now become the fastest Tamil film ever to hit that milestone. On the other hand, as per Sacnilk, War 2 earned ₹26.18 crore net in India on day 3, Friday.
According to Kadel, the film has pulled in between ₹320–325 crore worldwide in just three days, and it's already on a straight track to blockbuster status. With this, the superstar has also gone past his last release Vettaiyan's lifetime earnings. On Day 2, Coolie was barely ₹26 crore short of crossing Vettaiyan, which had made ₹146.89 crore in its entire run, and here comes Coolie, doing it all in its opening weekend. The film also smashed past Ajith's Good Bad Ugly (₹180 crore) and even overtook the ₹265 crore global haul of Mohanlal–Prithviraj Sukumaran's L2: Empuraan.
In France, Coolie also broke records by selling 8,800 tickets on opening day, beating Vijay's Leo (8,500). The film is doing exceptionally well in Singapore, the UAE, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and North America. Despite receiving mixed reviews from critics, Rajinikanth's star power and massive fan following are pulling huge crowds everywhere. Now, the movie is aiming for the ₹600 crore club. Only three Tamil films have ever crossed that mark before: 2.0 (Rajinikanth), Jailer (Rajinikanth), Leo (Vijay).
Also read: War 2 box office collection worldwide Day 2: Hrithik Roshan reclaims territory, Jr NTR's contribution declines as film passes Rs 100 crore mark on Independence Day
The movie stars Rajinikanth in the lead role. Nagarjuna plays the main antagonist, Simon. Earlier, the actor shared in a statement that the response to the film has been overwhelming. He described Coolie as a 'celebration of legacy and reinvention' and said breaking records felt inevitable. The movie also stars Shruti Haasan, Upendra, and Soubin Shahir, with a special cameo by Aamir Khan.
The film witnessed an overall 65.99% Tamil occupancy on Saturday, August 16, with Chennai (88.75%), Coimbatore (83.75%), Pondicherry (86.50%), and Trichy (89%). Night shows peaked at 79.71% The Hindi version, titled Coolie: The Powerhouse, managed a decent, 38.99% occupancy, though cities like Mumbai (43.50%), Pune (45%).