₹100 crore locked before day one: Rajinikanth, Lokesh Kanagaraj’s Coolie sets record

Rajinikanth’s Coolie is smashing advance booking records, with industry trackers including Sacnilk confirming unprecedented pre-release numbers that set it on course for the biggest opening of his career.

As of August 13, worldwide advance bookings for Coolie have crossed ₹100 crore for the opening weekend, with ₹80 crore already locked for day 1. Sacnilk reports over 12 lakh tickets sold in India — grossing ₹35–38 crore on opening day across all languages — led by Tamil with more than 10 lakh tickets snapped up.

Overseas momentum is even stronger, with ₹45–60 crore in day 1 pre-sales and a historic milestone: Coolie is the first Tamil film to cross $2 million in North American advance bookings, surpassing Kabali and Leo. 

Global ticket sales have already topped 1.8 million before release, according to reports.

Sacnilk projects pre-sales for the first day could cross ₹110 crore globally, with weekend advances easily exceeding ₹125 crore gross.

The film is tracking to become Rajinikanth’s biggest-ever opener, outpacing Jailer (₹96.5 crore opening day, ₹507 crore worldwide) and even 2.0 (₹712 crore lifetime gross). If audience reception matches the hype, Coolie could challenge Leo’s Tamil day 1 record of ₹143 crore, potentially setting a new benchmark for South Indian cinema.

Rajinikanth’s box office trajectory over the past decade — from Kabali’s ₹295 crore to Vettaiyan’s ₹250 crore+, Jailer, and 2.0 — shows consistent growth. Coolie now sits at the top of his pre-release performance chart, with unprecedented demand across all languages and territories.