Vijay’s Ghilli likely to gross ₹10 crore on re-release day

Vijay and Trisha's 2004 sports action movie Ghilli is back in theatres and the fans are making sure it is a hit once again.

With no big movie releases this April in Tamil cinema due to the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, filmmakers and distributors have been re-releasing older blockbusters. Vijay’s film Ghilli, directed by Dharani, was a highly-anticipated re-release after two decades and it hit theatres on April 20. According to latest reports, Vijay’s Ghilli could gross around ₹10 crore worldwide on its opening day. The film has been trending on social media the last few days.

Vijay's Ghilli re-released in theatres as it celebrates 20 years.

Blockbuster re-opening

As per Cinetrak, Ghilli had already earned around ₹3 crore in the worldwide pre-sales for the opening day (April 20). With Vijay’s films known to break his own box office records, the re-release of this film has gotten his fans into a tizzy and they have flooded social media with videos of themselves dancing to the superhit song Arjunar Villu and Appadi Podu in theatres. While Ram Muthuram Cinemas posted on X (formerly Twitter), “Genuinely #Ghilli can’t be replaced in #Thalapathy @actorvijay’s career! Records BreaKING! #GhilliInRamcinemas”, Aascar Cinemas posted they had back-to-back housefull shows on April 20.

Trisha's message

Film lead Trisha seemed elated at the response to the rerelease of the film. She posted on her Instagram, “Thank you Thank you Thank you. Such amazing posts and videos you guys are sending me. Making my day and how. (heart emoji) #ghillirelrease.” She also wrote on X (formerly Twitter) posting pics and videos from Ghilli, “If this is not coming full circle I don’t know what is (love emoji, emotion emoji, evil eye emoji) Woke up to FDFS BLOCKBUSTER vibes AGAIN (star emoji) 2004 (until emoji) 2024.” There were also reports that she would be watching the film this weekend with fans in the theatre.

Ghilli released first on April 17, 2004 and in fact, celebrates two decades this April. The movie is one of the biggest blockbusters in careers of the lead pair, Vijay and Trisha, and its rerelease has created a storm at the box office. Interestingly, Ghilli is the remake of Telugu superstar Mahesh Babu’s hit film Okkadu. The Tamil film ran for 200 days in theatres and grossed more than ₹50 crore at the global box office in 2004.

Now, with Vijay all set to enter politics and move out of Tamil cinema, his fans have become more focused on him. Every move of his is being watched by them and applauded and when he cast his vote on April 19 in the Tamil Nadu elections, he was mobbed at the polling booth. Right now, with Ghilli's re-release and its success, all eyes are on GOAT - Greatest of all time - his film with director Venkat Prabhu.