Why Rajinikanth's Coolie might turn out to be Tamil cinema’s highest grosser of 2025

We are left with only 98 days for the release of Coolie. Much-anticipated, star-studded, the Lokesh Kanagaraj factor, and above all, the Thalaivar phenomenon in the film are awaiting to open the floodgates of Tamil cinema’s box office. There is no denial when it comes to Coolie, being a film that will shatter all the records, and might even become the saving grace for this year. It only happened a few years back, when Sun Pictures and Rajinikanth made the Independence Day weekend all the merrier for the cash registers. Come August 14, Coolie is set to take over most of the screens across India, given how it boasts a cast of Rajinikanth, Nagarajuna, Upendra, Soubin Shahir, Sathyaraj, Shruthi Haasan, and speculatively Aamir Khan as well.

Why Rajinikanth's Coolie might turn out to be Tamil cinema’s highest grosser of 2025, or even pan India

When Rajinikanth announced his next film with Lokesh Kanagaraj, a filmmaker who had then just given the hit of Vikram and was working on Leo, the expectations knew no bounds. Provided it is Sun Pictures backing the film, Lokesh had begun to build each piece of film by gathering artistes from across languages, to cater to the pan-India needs. 

There is Kannada star Upendra, Nagarjuna from Telugu, Malayalam’s Soubin Shahir, among the likes of Sathyaraj and Shruti Haasan. To add on to this, there are speculations that Aamir Khan will make a cameo appearance. With such illustrious names already on the cast list, music by Anirudh Ravichander and a solid Sun Pictures backing Lokesh, who is giving life to his character Deva through Rajinikanth, it does look like a sure shot victory for Tamil cinema to come up with its highest grosser.

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Coolie will secure first spot on 2025’s highest grossing list?

So far in 2025, Ajith Kumar’s Good Bad Ugly has found the top spot with a collection of over Rs 200 crore. But that is only until May, and with seven more months to go, biggies like Coolie, Thug Life, Madharasi, Kuberaa, Idly Kadai to show up.

As per reports, it is discussed that Coolie has already generated a pre-release business of over Rs 750 crore, and OTT rights to about Rs 125 crore. Well, even if this could be just the start of it, the film is expected to have the real deal with the box office numbers that will begin once the film hits theatres. With the Rajinikanth factor kicking in, and the familiar faces of various industries making an appearance, it seems like a cakewalk for the film to become the highest earner. Even as the film will face competition with War 2, featuring Jr NTR and Hrithik Roshan, Coolie might just take over easily, if the film content is also good.

While it is too early to judge, come August 14, we will get to know the definite answer. Until then, let’s dwell with the expectations on what Coolie will bring on.