Box Office: 5 Things That Went Wrong with Ajith Kumar's Vidaamuyarchi

Ajith Kumar’s Vidaamuyarchi, directed by Magizh Thirumeni and co-starring Trisha & Arjun Sarja hasn't fared too well theatrically—here’s why

By Shanaz Syed

Updated on Feb 20, 2025 | 08:26 PM IST | 42.6K

Box Office: 5 Things That Went Wrong with Ajith Kumar's Vidaamuyarchi (Credit: Lyca Productions)

Tamil superstar Ajith Kumar's craze has grown leaps and bounds but the same is not happening with his movies at the box office. The talented star has disappointed his fans big time with his recent movie with director Magizh Thirumeni, Vidaamuyarchi. Though the film collected close to ₹135 crores gross from the worldwide box office for all the versions, it doesn't match up to the film's massive production cost. More importantly, it does not do justice to Ajith Kumar's stature.

Made with almost ₹175 crores budget, Vidaamuyarchi was released on 6 February 2025, after a lot of postponements including missing out on the mighty Pongal season as the film was first scheduled for January 2025 release. Here are the five reasons why the film failed to enthral a larger section of the audience as expected.

1) Timing of the release

Films with better content often fail to get visibility, and that's mainly due to the timing of the release. Ajith's Vidaamuyarchi mainly missed out on a best season like Pongal such that it could have cashed on the star's power. A Feb 6th release is like going for a complete non-season for films of that scale to work. If the film could collect ₹135 crores in this off-season, imagine what would have done if it targeted a primary festival season.

2) Mixed talk on the content

Right from the film's release, the stylish content carved by the director Magizh Thirumeni hasn't found universal appeal. Though the aim is to carve out a stylish action thriller, in the end, the film turned out to be in a neither-here nor-there as it didn't satisfy the hunger of movie lovers. With critics panning the film's narrative, interest in the movie subsided in the following days.

3) Expectations of fans

Deviating from the typical mass elements associated with Ajith's films, Vidaamuyarchi experimented with its narrative style. This shift may not have resonated with a segment of his fanbase, affecting word-of-mouth promotions as well as the film's longevity at the box office. Even with mediocre content, some films get a long run due to the love of fans, but that didn't happen in Vidaamuyarchi's case.

4) Mixed signals from Ajith Kumar

Stars of any calibre should actually promote their films big time to make sure that the attention around the film penetrates every corner of the movie's probable market. However, Ajith Kumar has been giving mixed signals around the movie, as he got himself busy with sports, racing and cars related stuff, but hasn't promoted Vidaamuyarchi aggressively. With the star himself not giving enough preference to the film, naturally the interest of the audience also dips.

5) Story similarities

Right from the release of the trailer, Vidaamuyarchi got panned by movie enthusiasts for being a loose remake of the 1997 Hollywood action thriller, Breakdown. As the film's theme of rescuing a missing family person became very familiar with films like Taken became popular in India as well, Ajith's movie faced lots of criticism over the story selection too and that made a section of audience stay away from theatres.

All these factors combined to hinder Vidaamuyarchi's box office success, despite its strong opening and star-studded cast.