Ponniyin Selvan worldwide closing box office collections; Biggest Tamil film of all time

The first part of Mani Ratnam’s historical epic series Ponniyin Selvan has almost exhausted its box office run just shy of Rs. 500 crores worldwide. The film continues to play in some centers in Tamil Nadu, but that will add a few lakhs to the total at best. The film grossed Rs. 327 crores in India and another Rs. 169 crores ($20.70 million) overseas, for a global box office gross of Rs. 496 crores. 

Overall, Ponniyin Selvan is the second highest-grossing film ever from Kollywood, just behind 2.0 which grossed Rs. 508 crores in India and Rs. 665 crores worldwide in 2018. However, if the business from only the Tamil language is considered, it is the biggest ever, beating not 2.0 but Vikram (Rs. 372 crores) by nearly Rs. 50 crores.

During its run, the film became the highest grosser ever in Tamil Nadu, also becoming the first ever to cross the Rs. 200 crores milestone in the state. The business to date in the state is Rs. 221.80 crores, which will likely close over Rs. 222 crores, beating the previous record by a huge 20 percent margin. This becomes even better considering the previous record was set earlier this year only and its more than 50 percent ahead of the record before that.

The film performed strongly overseas as well with nearly $21 million, beating $19 million of 2.0 in traditional markets and setting many new benchmarks for Kollywood including, the first $6 million in North America, A$1 million in Australia, and £1 million in the UK.

The territorial breakdown for the box office collections of Ponniyin Selvan is as follows:

Tamil Nadu – Rs. 221.80 crores
AP/TS – Rs. 23.70 crores
Karnataka – Rs. 27.20 crores
Kerala – Rs. 24.30 crores
Rest of India – Rs. 29.50 crores

India – Rs. 326.50 crores

North America – $6.80 million
Middle East – $4.20 million
Malaysia – $2.70 million
Singapore – $1.60 million
Australia/New Zealand – $1.25 million
UK – $1.50 million
France – $0.65 million
Europe – $1.20 million
Rest of World – $0.80 million

Overseas – $20.70 million / Rs. 169 crores

Worldwide – Rs. 495.50 crores