Mani Ratnam’s period drama Ponniyin Selvan: Part 1 has smashed box-office records and emerged top-grosser in Tamil Nadu at the end of the first week. The film crossed the Rs 300 crore milestone in worldwide collections in the first week. Only four Tamil films have managed to achieve this feat in the past — Enthiran, Kabali, 2.0 and Vikram.

Tracing the history of the Chola empire, Ponniyin Selvan: Part 1 is riding on a star cast featuring Karthi, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Jayam Ravi, Chiyaan Vikram and Trisha Krishnan. With music by A.R. Rahman, PS-I collected Rs 80 crore on its first day, making it the highest opener ever for a Tamil film. It collected Rs 114 crore over the first weekend in India, with Rs 68 crore in Tamil Nadu alone.

The festive holidays boosted the performance of Mani Ratnam’s visual extravaganza on the first Monday, with a collection of Rs 24.5 crore across India. As per trade analysts, PS-I grossed around Rs 11.5 crore across India on Thursday. Overall, in the first week, PS-I made a total of Rs 215.75 crore in India, with a collection of Rs 136.75 crore in Tamil Nadu and Rs 330 crore worldwide.

Hrithik Roshan and Saif Ali Khan’s fight continues at the box office

Meanwhile, Vikram Vedha, starring Hrithik Roshan and Saif Ali Khan, which released on the same day as PS-I is struggling to make a dent at the box office. Pushkar-Gayathri’s Hindi remake of their 2017 Tamil film has not been performing as per expectations and has failed to capitalise on the Dussehra holidays. Vikram Vedha released in 4,000-plus screens in India and 1,600-plus screens overseas but failed to entice the audience. There was no marked jump in its collections over the weekend, and the first week’s haul was way below expectations.

Vikram Vedha made only Rs 10.5 crore nett on the opening Friday. The box office collection of the film over the first weekend stood at a mere Rs 39.94 crore nett. The collection dropped further on Monday, with Rs 5.39 crore nett. Owing to Dussehra holidays, there was a slight jump on Thursday, with Rs 7.21 crore nett. Overall the film has fetched Rs 60 crore nett in India and grossed approximately Rs 100 crore worldwide.