'Coolie' Box Office collection day 9: Rajinikanth's gangster drama touches Rs 235 crore mark in India; maintains lead over Hrithik Roshan and Jr NTR's 'War 2'

Superstar Rajinikanth’s gangster drama ‘Coolie’, directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj, hit cinemas on 14 August with sky-high expectations. Fans created a festival-like atmosphere across theatres, and the film opened to a bumper start with a massive Rs 65 crore on its first day. Rajinikanth’s craze pulled huge crowds initially, but as the days passed, the box office momentum slowed down, and the film has not been able to maintain the same pace.Coolie Movie ReviewAccording to early estimates by Sacnilk, ‘Coolie’ earned Rs 5.50 crore net across all languages in India on its ninth day. With this, the film’s total India collection stands at Rs 235.15 crore. While the numbers are solid, the drop in daily earnings shows the film has lost steam after a strong start.On Friday, 22 August, ‘Coolie’ recorded an overall 20.39% Tamil occupancy. The film also saw an overall 17.64% Telugu occupancy. In the Hindi market, it did not perform as strongly, managing an overall 10.18% occupancy on the same day.Day 1 [1st Thursday]: Rs 65 CrDay 2 [1st Friday]: Rs 54.75 CrDay 3 [1st Saturday]: Rs 39.5 CrDay 4 [1st Sunday]: Rs 35.25 CrDay 5 [1st Monday]: Rs 12 CrDay 6 [1st Tuesday]: Rs 9.5 CrDay 7 [1st Wednesday]: Rs 7.5 CrDay 8 [2nd Thursday]: Rs 6.15 CrWeek 1 Total: Rs 229.65 CrDay 9 [2nd Friday]: Rs 5.50 Cr early estimatesOverall Total: Rs 235.15 CrThe film’s thunderous opening weekend was expected to be followed by steady weekday business, but that did not happen. The collections dropped sharply from Monday onwards, and the fall has continued into the second week. Despite this, the film remains the clear box office leader when compared with its major competitor.‘Coolie’ faced a massive clash at the box office with Hrithik Roshan, Jr NTR and Kiara Advani starrer ‘War 2’, which also released on 14 August. On its ninth day, ‘War 2’ collected Rs 4 crore, taking its total to Rs 208.25 crore. This means ‘Coolie’ is still well ahead in the clash with a lead of nearly Rs 27 crore. The edge has helped Rajinikanth’s film keep the upper hand despite losing momentum on weekdays.Directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj, ‘Coolie’ is a high-voltage gangster drama that stars Rajinikanth in the titular role. The film also features Nagarjuna, Shruti Haasan, Upendra, Soubin Shahir, and Sathyaraj in important parts. Adding to the excitement, Aamir Khan makes a cameo appearance in the film, which was a surprise element for fans.With Rs 235.15 crore already in the bag, the film now aims to cross the Rs 250 crore milestone. For that to happen, the weekend business will be crucial. The Saturday and Sunday could decide whether ‘Coolie’ regains some pace or continues with the slowing trend.