Director Karthik Subbaraj has responded to the persistent question of why Tamil cinema has never produced a Rs 1,000 crore grosser even as other industries — Hindi, Telugu and Kannada — have films in that club. Kartik argued that the milestone is not something any filmmaker or industry can manufacture. It is, he says, a phenomenon that happens to a film, not something a film is built to achieve.
“Nobody can target a thousand crore and get a thousand crore. That is not how it works. It is a phenomenon,” Karthik Subbaraj said. “If someone in the Tamil industry sits down and says, ‘I am going to make a thousand crore film,’ they will never get there.”
He pointed to the films that have actually reached that figure as evidence. “When films like KGF or Pushpa were made, I don’t think the makers targeted a thousand crore. They would have aimed for a big hit, strong numbers. But when the film actually reaches that figure, when people across the globe connect with it and it keeps growing, that is a phenomenon. It is magic. And you cannot plan for magic to happen,” Karthik Subbaraj explained.
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Where Tamil cinema stands
The question Karthik Subbaraj was responding to has become one of the recurring talking points around Kollywood’s commercial standing relative to other South Indian industries.
As of October 2026, Indian films have crossed Rs 1,000 crore worldwide: Dangal, Baahubali 2: The Conclusion, KGF: Chapter 2, RRR, Pushpa 2: The Rule, Jawan, Pathaan, Kalki 2898 AD and Dhurandhar franchise.
The highest-grossing Tamil film of all time is Jailer 2, which crossed Rs 755 crore worldwide in its first 14 days and is still running. Before Jailer 2, the record was held by Rajinikanth’s 2.0 at approximately Rs 691 crore. Rajinikanth’s original Jailer collected Rs 604.
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Jailer 2’s box office trajectory has been the strongest any Tamil film has ever recorded. The film opened to Rs 59.70 crore net in India on Day 1 across 16,599 shows, surpassing the original Jailer’s opening-day collection of Rs 48.35 crore. Its advance booking alone had accumulated Rs 57.30 crore through the sale of 29.69 lakh tickets across 31,812 screens before release. By the end of its first week, the film had crossed Rs 542 crore worldwide. On Day 11, it overtook 2.0’s Rs 691 crore to become the highest-grossing Tamil film of all time. By Day 12, it had crossed Rs 400 crore net domestically, with total India net at Rs 406.08 crore.
On the other hand, Jana Nayagan, billed as Thalapathy Vijay’s 69th and final film before his full-time entry into politics, was originally scheduled for release on January 9, 2026, but was delayed after failing to secure CBFC clearance in time. It was then leaked online on April 9, widely pirated and distributed illegally for months before the makers could take legal action.
By the time it finally released on July 23, two and a half months after Vijay had already assumed office as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, the film’s theatrical window had been severely compromised by piracy. Despite all of this, Jana Nayagan opened to approximately Rs 50 crore India gross on Day 1 and collected Rs 183 crore worldwide on its opening day. The film ended up collected Rs 325 crores worldwide.
Also Read: Jana Nayagan movie review: Vijay’s last film unravels under pressure of being Vijay’s last film
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About Karthik Subbaraj
Karthik Subbaraj is one of Tamil cinema’s most prominent directors, known for Pizza, Jigarthanda, Petta with Rajinikanth, and most recently Retro with Suriya and the independent film Dorothy, which premiered at TIFF 2026.
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