The stage is set for one of the biggest box office battles of the year - Rajinikanth’s mass action film Coolie vs Hrithik Roshan’s action thriller War 2.
With less than a week left, excitement is at its peak, and Coolie’s advance bookings are already breaking records.
In Kerala and Karnataka, Coolie will release with 6 am shows on August 14. In Tamil Nadu, the first show will be at 9 am, as early morning screenings were banned after a fan died during a 4 am show of Thunivu in 2023.
In Kerala, bookings open at 10.30 am on August 8, and several theatres have already planned 6 am fan celebrations.
Tamil Nadu theatres have also announced that viewers below 18 will not be allowed, as the film has received an ‘A’ certificate from the censor board.
The buzz is strong overseas too. In the UK, the film will release without cuts at 12.30 am local time (5 am IST). In Dubai, shows start from 9.30 am IST, with more likely to be added.
So far, Coolie has made $2 million in pre-sales, with $1.3 million from North America alone. Distributor Prathyangira Cinemas says over 50,000 tickets have already been sold there.
Featuring Rajinikanth, Nagarjuna, Soubin Shahir, Upendra, Aamir Khan, and Shruti Haasan, the film is bringing together fans across languages and states.
Trade experts are now asking - can Coolie become Kollywood’s first â¹1,000 crore blockbuster? Fans will decide that when the film hits theatres.