Theatrical exhibitors around the world are pulling out the stops to see that Mersal hits it big, with a worldwide opening screen count of 3,300, the most ever for a Vijay film. In addition to the actor’s home state of Tamil Nadu, expect big rollouts also in the traditional Tamil movie strongholds of Andra Pradesh, Telugana, Karnataka and Kerala, and overseas in the U.S., UAE, Singapore, Malaysia and Sri Lanka.
Box Office India reports that Malaysia alone will put up 800 screens for Mersal, a jaw-dropping count if correct, as it would represent nearly eight out of 10 of the country’s 1,100 total auditoriums. Vijay will be aiming to set a new personal best thereby topping the $1.83 million (Rs. 12 crore) that his action-spy-thriller Kaththi earned in Malaysia in 2014. The all-time Tamil movie record will be more of a challenge—it currently stands at $3.95 million (Rs. 25.8 crore), a high water mark set by Rajinikanth’s gangster movie Kabali in 2016.
In the wider world, Mersal will do well to top Vijay’s career-high grosser Thuppakki, the 2012 action-thriller that collected 187 in 2012 for Vijay and director AR Murugadoss, whose next picture Secret Superstar will open next week, on October 19.