Ponniyin Selvan Part 1: Mani Ratnam's magnum opus secures second highest pre-sales in Tamil Nadu
Mani Ratnam's Ponniyin Selvan Part 1 is based on Kalki's novel of the same name.
Mani Ratnam's Ponniyin Selvan Part-1, based on Kalki's novel of the same name, finally releases in cinemas tomorrow, amidst fanfare and excitement, especially in the state of Tamil Nadu. Boasting of a huge cast with actors like Vikram, Karthi, Jayamravi, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Sarath Kumar, Trisha and others, the film is already buzzing, as it gears up for release.
The advance bookings of PS-1 are the second highest of the year in Tamil Nadu, only behind Thalapathy Vijay and Pooja Hegde's Beast, which had gross pre-sales of Rs. 55 crore, with Rs 30 crore for the first day. PS-1 has mustered an advance booking in the range of Rs. 16 - 17 cr gross in Tamil Nadu for day 1 and around Rs. 40 crore in total. With gross pre-sales of Rs. 40 crore, it has gone past Ajith Kumar and Huma Qureshi's Valimai, which had a total advance of around Rs. 37 - 38 crore gross, with around Rs. 23 - 24 crore for the first day. Both Beast and Valimai had higher advances than PS-1 for day 1 because both the films had more early morning shows and fan shows for the first day, as both actors command a very loyal fan following. PS-1 has the best ratio for a tentpole Tamil release, since not many films are able to double their first day of advance for the weekend, before the release of the film.
PS-1 has also secured very good advance bookings for the dubbed versions down south. However, the film is being let down by the Hindi version, which has secured very little advance, even if we don't consider it to be a big budget magnum opus. Regardless, the advance bookings of PS-1 are very encouraging all over the globe. It has sold record number of tickets for an Indian film in the Gulf region and is heading towards a premiere of over 1 million dollars in North America, which has only been accomplished by a couple of Rajinikanth films in the past.