June 08, 2025: Thug Life, the much-anticipated collaboration between Kamal Haasan and director Mani Ratnam, has concluded its first weekend at the box office with a modest total of ₹35.64 crore net in India, according to data from Sacnilk.
Released on a Thursday, the film had a strong start, collecting ₹15.5 crore on its opening day. However, it witnessed a significant drop on Friday with earnings falling to ₹7.15 crore. Saturday saw a slight improvement at ₹7.75 crore, but the momentum didn’t carry into Sunday, which brought in only ₹5.24 crore—capping off the four-day run with ₹35.64 crore.
While these numbers are decent, they fall short of expectations, especially given the film’s massive buzz as the first collaboration between Kamal Haasan and Mani Ratnam since their 1987 cult hit Nayakan. For comparison, Kamal’s recent film Indian 2, directed by Shankar, earned ₹62.15 crore in four days, while Mani Ratnam’s Ponniyin Selvan I and II raked in ₹120.15 crore and ₹103.75 crore respectively in their opening weekends.
Also read: Housefull 5 Box Office Day 3: Akshay Kumar’s Comedy Inches Towards ₹100 Crore Mark
Thug Life features Kamal Haasan as Shaktivel, aka Shakti, and Silambarasan TR as his adopted son Amar. The film also stars Trisha Krishnan, Abhirami, Ashok Selvan, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Joju George, Ali Fazal, Sanya Malhotra, and Rohit Saraf. The narrative explores themes of legacy, rebellion, and redemption, blending gritty action with Mani Ratnam’s signature cinematic style.
The film’s performance may have also been impacted by its ban in Karnataka due to a language controversy. The state is traditionally a strong market for Tamil films, along with Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, and the ban potentially affected regional footfall.
With weekday collections expected to dip further, Thug Life may face challenges in sustaining momentum at the box office, unless strong word-of-mouth or positive overseas response turns things around.