Superstar Rajinikanth’s 2.0 had the widest release for an Indian film in around 10,500 screens worldwide on Thursday, 29 November.
The highly anticipated sequel to Enthiran (2010), according to early estimates from reliable sources in the trade, has grossed Rs84 crore worldwide on first day with all India nett around Rs75 crore. In Tamil and Telugu speaking states, it is rumoured to have grossed around Rs40 crore together.
Trade pundits believe since the film released on a Thursday and non-holiday weekend, it couldn’t get a better opening but they’re confident that it will have a long run at the ticket window.
2.0 review: Rajinikanth reboots as the star of this fantastic, entertaining 3D universe
In Tamil Nadu, it is expected to have uninterrupted run till the release of Viswasam and Dhanush’s Maari 2 for Pongal 2019.
2.0 revolves around an ornithologist, played by Akshay Kumar, and his fight against telecom companies as he uncovers that radiation from mobile towers is wiping birds from the face of the Earth. When he loses the battle against the telecom bigwigs and the government, he vows to take revenge, but in a different form and that introduces us to the fifth force and what happens when he wreaks havoc using it forms the crux of the story.
Box office: Hindi version of Rajinikanth, Akshay Kumar’s 2.0 earns Rs20 crore on opening day
Directed by Shankar, 2.0 also stars Amy Jackson and Sudhanshu Pandey in pivotal roles. The film marks the southern debut of Akshay, who was seen playing a negative character and he underwent heavy prosthetic makeover for his character.
Rajinikanth returns as scientist Vaseegaran, Chitti robot and 2.0, the reloaded version of Chitti. The film was also released in Telugu and Hindi. While Karan Johar distributed the Hindi version, the Telugu version was snapped by NVR Cinemas.