The thugs of Kamal Haasan and Mani Ratnam have become a great disappointment at the box office around the world. Gangster drama, which hit theaters on June 5, 2025, earned just Rs 89 crore in its first week. This includes a gross of Rs 46 crore in India and Rs 43 crore from international markets.
The film is unlikely to connect a lot from here. It is estimated to end its global run under the gross of Rs 100 crore. This is a shocking result for a film carrying such high expectations. This is a fall for both Kamal Haasan and Mani Ratnam, whose recent films have set a lot of benchmarks.
In India, thugs struggled from the beginning. The extended opening weekend (Thursday to Sunday) collected Rs 40.75 crore. Tamil Nadu led Rs 33 crore, while the rest of India contributed Rs 7.75 crore. However, the film faced a sharp decline in the week of the week. On Monday, it was observed that the collection fell to Rs 2.25 crore, declining more than 85% from its early day. Tuesday was worse, with only Rs 1.75 crore. Wednesday is seen in an area around Rs 1.25–1.50 crore, causing a total of Rs 46 crore. The week 1 shows a total of Rs 46 crore rejection of the audience.
Negative word-mouth, a common story, and a weak script hurt its performance. The absence of a release in Karnataka due to a dispute over Kamal Haasan’s comments on Kannada language, its cost is also around Rs 5 crore. The effect on accepting thugs life would be more.
Internationally, thugs managed a gross of Rs 43 crore in Life Week 1. While it is poor, it is not as bad as domestic performance. The global total of Rs 89 crore is far from Kamal Haasan’s previous films. His final release, Bharatiya 2 was called a disaster, but still earned Rs 151 crore worldwide. Earlier, Vikram was a blockbuster, crossing Rs 400 crore globally. In recent years, there is no number of thugs life, identifying it as Kamal Haasan’s biggest dramatic flop.
For Mani Ratnam, it is equally disappointing. His last two films were largely successful successes. Ponniyin Selvan – I grossed 500 crores worldwide, which became an all -time blockbuster. Ponniyin Selvan – II followed as a superhit. The thug life was expected to continue the line of victory, but it has become flat. The reunion of Kamal Haasan and Mani Ratnam, 38 years after their prestigious heroine, generated heavy publicity. Sadly, the film failed to live it.
In comparison, Housefull 5, a day after the life of the thug, it crossed the gross of Rs 100 crore in India in a 4 -day flat. This highlights how bad the thug life performs. The film is ready to wrap below Rs 100 crore globally.
For Kamal Haasan and Mani Ratnam, the thug life is a rare misunderstanding. Fans now hope that their next projects will bring back their box office magic.
The thug life now plays in theaters.
Also read: Thug Life Box Office Collections: Kamal Haasan has a devastating weekend, which is ready to wrap under 100CR worldwide
