For the first time in 40 years, Rajinikanth watches ‘Jailer 2’ with fans as the film grosses Rs 6.66 billion

Dubai: Tamil superstar Rajinikanth surprised fans by joining them for a screening of his latest film, ‘Jailer 2’, in Chennai, marking his first cinema visit in 40 years, according to the film’s production house.

The 75-year-old actor watched the film alongside audiences at PVR Cinemas in Phoenix Marketcity, Velachery, accompanied by music composer Anirudh Ravichander and his grandson Linga. Videos shared by the makers showed Rajinikanth arriving at the cinema and joining moviegoers for the screening. The audience cheered as the superstar watched the action-packed sequel on the big screen.

The appearance comes as ‘Jailer 2’ continues its strong theatrical run, with worldwide gross collections reaching Rs 6.663 billion (Rs 666.3 crore) in its first 10 days, according to box-office tracker Sacnilk.

The film collected Rs 241.5 million (Rs 24.15 crore) in net earnings in India on Saturday, October 24, marking a 66.6 per cent increase from the previous day. Its gross collections in India stood at Rs 4.368 billion (Rs 436.8 crore), while overseas markets contributed Rs 2.295 billion (Rs 229.5 crore).

‘Jailer 2’ climbs Tamil cinema box office charts

Directed by Nelson Dilipkumar and produced by Kalanithi Maran under Sun Pictures, ‘Jailer 2’ hit cinemas on October 15. It is the sequel to the 2023 blockbuster ‘Jailer’, in which Rajinikanth plays retired jailer Muthuvel Pandian, also known as Tiger.

The sequel has already surpassed the original film's worldwide earnings of approximately Rs 6.047 billion (Rs 604.7 crore). With its latest total, ‘Jailer 2’ has become the second-highest-grossing Tamil film worldwide, behind Rajinikanth’s own 2018 science-fiction film ‘2.0’, which earned approximately Rs 6.91 billion (Rs 691 crore).

The sequel brings back familiar faces, including Ramya Krishnan, Yogi Babu, Mirnaa and Vinayakan. The ensemble cast also features Hrithik Roshan, Malayalam superstar star Mohanlal, Kannada actor Shiva Rajkumar, Vidya Balan, Mithun Chakraborty, S. J. Suryah and Suraj Venjaramoodu.

Rajinikanth’s decision to watch the film alongside fans has added another talking point to its box-office success. The production house described the screening as the first time in four decades that the superstar had joined audiences to watch a film in a theatre.

Last week, director Nelson Dilipkumar thanked audiences for the film’s enthusiastic reception in a post on X, sharing a picture of Rajinikanth with music composer Anirudh Ravichander.

“ Theatres are going bonkers! Thalaivar magic hits different,” Nelson wrote, thanking moviegoers for the phenomenal response to Jailer 2. He added that seeing audiences celebrate the film was particularly rewarding and expressed gratitude for their love and support.