He may be 74, but Rajinikanth has just served another reminder of why he may be the biggest box office draw in India currently. His recent release, Lokesh Kanagaraj‘s Coolie, has taken a bumper start at the ticket window, breaking several box office records in the first two days itself. Here are all the records that Coolie has broken so far:
Best opening for a Tamil film in history
Coolie earned ₹151 crore gross worldwide on its opening day. This is the biggest opening by any Tamil film ever, beating Lokesh Kanagaraj’s previous film, Leo. The Vijay-starrer had earned ₹143 crore on its opening day last year.
Best opening for an Indian film in 2025
The ₹151 crore worldwide gross for Coolie is also the highest for any Indian film this year, beating the ₹80-crore mark set by Ram Charan and Shankar’s Game Changer. Tied in second place is War 2, starring Jr NTR and Hrithik Roshan.
Fourth-best opening by an original Indian film
Among the Indian films that have secured a bigger opening than Coolie in history, only three are original films – RRR ( ₹223 crore), Kalki 2898 AD ( ₹178 Crore), and Salaaar ( ₹158 crore). The others – Pushpa 2, Baahubali 2, and KGF 2 are all sequels.
Highest-grossing Tamil film of 2025
In two days, Coolie has grossed ₹250+ crore worldwide, including ₹118 crore net in India. This makes it the highest-grossing Tamil film of the year, surpassing Ajith Kumar’s Good Bad Ugly, which ended its theatrical run with a final gross of ₹248 crore.
Biggest opening day pre-sales for a Tamil film
Coolie was breaking box office records even before it released in theatres. The film managed to sell tickets worth ₹109 crore in pre-sales for its opening day, the highest for any Tamil film.
Fastest Tamil film to ₹100 crore
In the domestic market, Coolie crossed the ₹100 crore mark in just two days, becoming the first Tamil film to do so. Rajni’s 2.0 and Vijay’s Leo had both done it in three days.
Coolie is now galloping towards the ₹300-crore mark globally and the ₹200-crore mark domestically. That it will reach both quicker than even Shah Rukh Khan’s Jawan is a testament to the film’s craze across India. Coolie’s global earning pace is outdone only by a few Indian films, namely Pushpa 2: The Rule, RRR, Baahubali 2: The Conclusion, KGF Chapter 2, Kalki 2898 AD, and Jawan.
All about Coolie
Lokesh Kanagaraj’s Coolie features Rajinikanth in the titular role, leading a large ensemble cast that also includes NagarjunShruti Haasan, Soubin Shahir, and Upendra, along with Aamir Khan in a cameo.
