Coolie box office collection day 1: Rajinikanth gives career-best ₹65 crore opening, obliterates Hrithik- Jr NTR's War 2

Coolie box office collection day 1: Lokesh Kanagaraj's ensemble film, headlined by Rajinikanth, is clashing with War 2 at the box office.

Coolie box office collection day 1: Lokesh Kanagaraj’s ensemble film, headlined by Rajinikanth, was released in theatres on 14 August. The Tamil film is clashing with the Bollywood film War 2, starring Hrithik Roshan and Jr NTR. According to Sacnilk, Coolie has an edge over War 2. (Follow live updates on Coolie and War 2 release)

Coolie box office collection day 1: Rajinikanth headlines this Lokesh Kanagaraj film.

Coolie box office collection

According to the trade website, Coolie earned ₹65 crore net in India on day 1, while War 2 collected just over ₹50 crore. The film, which was released in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi, showed stellar occupancies in the South Indian languages. Coolie registered a Tamil occupancy of 87%, Telugu occupancy of 91% and Hindi occupancy of 36% on its opening day. Areas like Pondicherry, Salem and Warangal registered a whopping 99% occupancy, while areas like Chennai, Coimbatore and Hyderabad had 97%.

This is now the best opening for Rajinikanth in his career, beating the ₹60 crore opening for his sci-fi blockbuster, 2.0. However, Coolie stopped short of setting the all-time record for Tamil cinema, which still belongs to Vijay's Leo, which opened at ₹66 crore.

Rajinikanth completes 50 years in cinema

As Coolie hit screens, Rajinikanth also completes 50 years in cinema on 15 August. Numerous celebrities like Kamal Haasan, Hrithik Roshan, Sivakarthikeyan, Udhayanidhi Stalin, Mohanlal, Mammootty, Nani and others paid tribute.

Director Lokesh posted behind-the-scenes pictures from the shoot of Coolie, writing, “#Coolie will always be a special film in my journey, and the reason this film shaped up the way it did with everyone pouring their hearts and love into it is because of you, #Thalaivar @rajinikanth sir.” He added, “From the bottom of my heart, thank you for continuously inspiring all of us and hearty congratulations on completing 50 glorious years of making us love you, learn from you, and grow with you! We Love you #Thalaivaa.”

Coolie stars Rajinikanth, Nagarjuna, Soubin Shahir, Shruti Haasan, Sathyaraj, Upendra and Aamir Khan in lead roles. Produced by Sun Pictures, it has music composed by Anirudh Ravichander.