Coolie in Kannada: Rajinikanth film still a long way from breaking Pushpa 2 and even Jailer records

Coolie in Kannada: At the start of Coolie’s second weekend at the box office, the film was still a long way from breakeven in Karnataka, with the Kannada version contributing only a minor fraction

Days before Rajinikanth’s Coolie was set for release, there was uncertainty about whether it would get a Kannada dubbed version. Despite an early teaser in Kannada, on the trailer launch day, there was no sign of a Kannada version. It came a good 5 days later, with an assurance from the makers that the film would release with a Kannada dubbed version in Karnataka. The question then was if the effort would pay off, given that teams often decry the lack of audience for the dubbed version, owing to which exhibitors also tend to prioritize the original version.

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Coolie's Kannada version collects Rs 2 cr by end of 2nd weekend

By day 9, Coolie, which has about 70 shows for the Kannada version in Bengaluru, had recorded around Rs 2.15 crore collection only, with its week 1 theatrical share said to be around Rs 17 cr only. The film is a long way from getting close to Jailer’s Rs 5 cr business for the Kannada version, with Allu Arjun’s Pushpa 2 still leading the pack at Rs 9.2 cr.

The distribution rights of the Lokesh Kanagaraj directorial had been picked up for Rs 22 crore and the film is expected to break even by the end of the third weekend. Conservative estimates indicate that Coolie is unlikely to be a profitable venture in Karnataka. In fact, the film’s overall figures also point towards it not recovering its budget.

Coolie, a standalone film that does not belong to the filmmaker’s cinematic universe, did not live up to the pre-release buzz it had generated. Lokesh’s writing was panned and the much talked about cameos by Upendra and Aamir Khan did not have the impact that Mohanlal and Shivarajkumar had in Jailer. The film has been dubbed the weakest ever by the filmmaker.

Also read: Coolie OTT release date (tentative): Where and when can you stream Rajinikanth’s top grossing Tamil film

The film’s ensemble cast also included Nagarjuna, Soubin Shahir, Shruti Haasan, Rachita Ram, Baburaj, Sathyaraj, Kanna Ravi, Reba Monica John, Mahesh Manjrekar, among others, while music was by Anirudh and cinematography by Girish Gangadharan.

FAQs

Q. What is the box office collection of Coolie?

A. Coolie has earned over Rs 200 crore in India and over Rs 400 crore gross worldwide.

Q. Was Coolie hit or flop?

A. Coolie is the highest grossing Tamil film in 2025 even though it received negative reviews. It is estimated to not break even.

Q. What is Rajinikanth's next movie?

A. Rajinikanth has Jailer 2, the sequel to the 2023 film Jailer (available on OTTplay Premium)

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