Rajinikanth’s ‘Coolie,’ directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj, has stormed the box office, grossing ₹118.50 crore in India within two days. The Hindi version alone contributed ₹11 crore, surpassing ‘Kaala’ to become Rajinikanth’s third-biggest Hindi hit. Despite competition from ‘War 2,’ ‘Coolie’ is driven by positive audience reception and Rajinikanth’s enduring appeal, potentially challenging ‘Robot’s’ lifetime Hindi earnings during the holiday weekend.
Superstar Rajinikanth’s latest release Coolie is off to a thunderous start at the box office, and the film has already etched its name in record books. Directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj, the action-packed entertainer, which hit theatres on August 14, has grossed Rs 118.50 crore across India in just two days, with the Hindi version contributing a solid Rs 11 crore.This early momentum has ensured that Coolie is now Rajinikanth’s third-biggest hit in Hindi, surpassing Kaala, which had earned Rs 10.38 crore in its lifetime run. The top two spots remain with Shankar’s magnum opus 2.0 (Rs 189.55 crore in Hindi) and Robot (Rs 23.84 crore in Hindi). That means, in a matter of only 48 hours, Coolie has displaced Kaala and taken over the No. 3 position in Rajinikanth’s Hindi filmography.The film’s Hindi opening itself was impressive, Tamil films have been unable to crossover to Hindi markets as easily as Telugu films . On Day 1, Coolie registered Rs 4.5 crore, followed by a strong jump on Day 2 to Rs 6.5 crore, signaling positive word of mouth and solid audience pull despite a big clash with Hrithik Roshan and Jr. NTR’s mega-release War 2. The Lokesh Kanagaraj-Rajinikanth collaboration had been one of the most anticipated films of the year, and the box office response so far indicates it has lived up to the hype.While War 2 is commanding a bigger share of screens in Hindi belt, Coolie is holding its own with extraordinary traction.The fact that Coolie has already raced past Kaala’s lifetime business in two days highlights both Rajinikanth’s enduring charisma and Kanagaraj’s brand of gripping action storytelling. With the Independence Day holiday weekend in play, the film is expected to continue its upward trajectory. If it sustains momentum, Coolie could easily cross Robot’s lifetime Hindi numbers in its extended week and solidify its position as Rajinikanth’s second-biggest Hindi hit ever, behind only the mammoth 2.0.For now, the numbers reaffirm that Rajinikanth’s star power cuts across languages and regions. At 73, the superstar is still setting box office benchmarks, and with Coolie adding another feather to his crown, the Thalaivar wave shows no signs of slowing down.
