‘Thug Life,’ starring Kamal Haasan and directed by Mani Ratnam, hit the screen on 5 June 2025 with large-scale expectations. The highly anticipated film opened with a net of an impressive ₹ 15.5 crore on 1 day, mainly thanks to Tamil Nadu’s contribution of ₹ 13.35 crore. However, despite the grand opening, the film received a mixed response from the audience. While many praised its ambitious realm and artistic execution, others found its narrative style less attractive, especially in non-nominees, where the Telugu and Hindi versions were brought only in a minor number.Sharp drop and low occupancyAfter a strong start, ‘Thug Life’ experienced a significant decline in the collection, earning 7.15 crores on day 2, which was a 53% decline according to Sacnilk. The film recovered a little with ₹ 7.75 crore on Saturday and then again to ₹ 6.5 crore on Sunday. Workdays were difficult: Monday’s ₹ 2.3 crore declined to ₹ 1.77 crore on Tuesday, and on Wednesday, only 0.35 crore. The film’s week one reached a total of ₹ 41.32 crores. Tamil occupancy on day 7 was 13.14% less, with less than 14% registration at noon and morning, showing a weak occupancy. Despite a talented actors’ contingent and Mani Ratnam’s direction, the film’s cerebral tone and large-scale elements deficiency have limited its box office legs.The plot, cast, and what lies ahead‘Thug Life’ tells the story of Rangaraaya Sakthivel Naicker, who is a person who returns to his violent roots on emotional levels of identity and justice. Kamal Haasan led the actors in the lead roles along with Silambarasan, Trisha, Ashok Selvan, Jujo George, and Gautham Karthik. With music scored by AR Rahman, cinematography by Ravi K Chandran, and editing by Srikar Prasad, the film has top-level technical cleverness. However, the box office trajectory now depends on its second-weekend performance and foreign reception, as the film reduces interest in domestic cinemas.
