Vijay’s film ‘GOAT’ faced its first major challenge at the box office on Monday after enjoying a smooth run during its four-day opening weekend. Directed by Venkat Prabhu, the movie grossed an impressive Rs 137 crore domestically and a staggering Rs 288 crore worldwide from Thursday to Sunday.
However, Monday saw the film experience its steepest decline yet, with earnings dropping by approximately 58.5% to around Rs 14 crore. Despite this dip, the domestic collection has crossed the Rs 150 crore mark, now standing at about Rs 151 crore. As is typical for big-budget films, the first Monday after release often prompts reflection for filmmakers.
Despite facing mixed reviews and significant drops in earnings on both Friday (42%) and Monday (58.5%), ‘GOAT’ has still managed to break into the Rs 300 crore club globally, making it the highest-grossing Tamil film of 2024. This achievement underscores Vijay’s strong box office draw, with many fans lamenting that he is stepping away from acting at the height of his career. ‘GOAT’ is known to be Vijay’s second-to-last film as an actor, as he prepares to transition into politics.
Monday’s lower collection was partly due to it being the first working day after an extended Vinayaka Chaturthi holiday period, with Tamil Nadu’s occupancy rates dropping to just 44%. Tamil Nadu had previously been a stronghold for the film, even as other key markets like Kerala underperformed. Interestingly, the Telugu version of ‘GOAT’ surpassed the Hindi version in terms of occupancy, although the Hindi version, titled ‘Thalapathy is the GOA’, still contributed about Rs 10 crore to the total box office, slightly edging out the Telugu version.
As the film moves into its first critical week, the absence of holidays may prevent ‘GOAT’ from seeing a sudden resurgence. However, with no other major releases to compete against, it may still maintain steady box office returns, with a potential uptick over the coming weekend. For now, the film’s slower momentum poses little threat to ‘Leo’, which remains Vijay’s highest-grossing film to date.