Suriya's latest film, Kanguva, has been released at the cinema theatres on November 14, 2024. On the opening day, it has received a good collection at the ticket window, which is almost ₹22 crore. Even though the critics and viewers have received mixed reactions for this movie, this collection will be a good start for it.
Synopsis of Kanguva
Kanguva is directed by Siva. This movie stars, Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, and Yogi Babu, among others. This movie is special because it tells a story over two timelines: 1070, in which Suriya plays the role of a tribal prince who dares to go to battle against the Roman invader, and in 2024, in which he plays a bounty hunter and enjoys a gory spree. The two timelines given to this movie make it rich and a showcase of the talents of Suriya in being versatile.
Box Office Performance
It opens very well at the box office on its first day. The film, on the opening day, registers:
- ₹13.65 crore from Tamil Nadu
- ₹3.25 crore from Hindi markets
- ₹5 crore from Telugu versions
- Smaller amounts from Kannada and Malayalam markets
The over-all occupancy rates, too, did the rounds. Tamil 2D shows occupied seats to the tune of 37.25%, but better occupancy rates came in the case of 3D shows which stood at 49.89%. Mixed were the occupancy rates reported in other languages. While Hindi 2D shows occupied only 11.47%, Telugu 3D shows occupied 39.28%.
Audience Reception
The audience has given mixed responses to Kanguva. Primarily, they were applauding the performances of Suriya in dual roles. They asked whether it was possible for someone like Suriya to switch over between characters without being noticed easily. There have been complaints on some of the script work and screenplay of the film. According to these critics, the storyline did not meet their expectations while commending the acting skills of Suriya.
Reviews commented that the sound design of the film was especially very harsh, and many audiences found it too loud. Music by Devi Sri Prasad was praised for its energetic beats but was also commented on to be too intense many times. One review stated it as "one of the loudest films you could watch in theatres," which implies that the decibel levels would be too high for the film to enjoy.
Critical Reviews
Mixed reviews have been received by Kanguva from critics. Some appreciated the eye-catching visuals and massive scale, but some felt that the story was too curvy and twisty, while lacking depth. For instance, India Today pointed out that, although Suriya has managed to infuse strength in performance, the overall execution of the film felt lacking cohesion.
But many fans went to social networks to praise the movie. Fans felt that ambitious storytelling and spectacle were well-balanced and remembered this as much of a Hollywood epic in terms of production value.
Challenges Faced
This was one of the major hurdles the film had to cross: once it was in theaters, it spread like a fire on the internet. The movie started receiving downloads on several torrent sites a few hours after its release; this may influence its performance at the box office for the following days.
There were also logistical issues with theater bookings in Tamil Nadu that may have played a role in the opening-day crowd. Some theaters were late in opening their doors because of revenue-sharing tussles over the number of early shows.
Conclusion
In short, Kanguva has opened its first weekend pretty well in the collections by minting ₹ 22 crore from the very first day, where mixed responses were received alike from the critics as well as viewers. With Suriya sporting two roles in it, and story works on a plot with a timeline ahead, there are a lot of elements of criticism based on the sound levels as well as quality of the script. But fans feel glad when they see the ambitious nature as well as visuals in it.
As Kanguva continues its outing across theaters all over India, it remains to be seen whether good word-of-mouth will help sustain its box office going into the weekend and onwards. It looks like the star power of Suriya has still drawn audiences into cinemas, and so Kanguva proves a significant release in the Tamil cinema circuit this year.