After weeks of anticipation and a last-minute release delay, Karuppu, directed by RJ Balaji, finally hit theatres on Friday. Fans who waited patiently for the release arrived in large numbers at theaters on the film`s release day. Many theatres witnessed celebrations as fans whistled, hooted and cheered during the screening. Now, the numbers have spoken. While it is not Suriya`s best opening, the film got a respectable box office response.

Karuppu box office

According to trade tracker Sacnilk, the Suriya and Trisha Krishnan-starrer collected Rs 14.4 crore net on its opening day, while its gross domestic earnings stood at Rs 16.66 crore. The film also brought in Rs 4 crore from overseas markets, taking its worldwide gross collection to Rs 20.66 crore.

Of the total Rs 14.4 crore net collection, the Tamil version contributed the lion’s share with Rs 12 crore, while the Telugu dubbed version added Rs 2.4 crore. Across 4,891 shows on day one, the Tamil version registered an overall occupancy of 50.35 percent. Occupancy began at 24.54 percent in the morning shows, climbed to 45.92 percent in the afternoon, rose further to 53.31 percent in the evening, and peaked at an impressive 75.15 percent during night shows. Region-wise, Chennai led with 592 shows and a strong occupancy of 70.5 percent, while Bengaluru recorded 367 shows with a comparatively lower occupancy of 38.5 percent. The Telugu version posted an overall occupancy of 28.28 percent.

While Karuppu has managed a solid opening, its day-one numbers fall short of some of Suriya’s recent releases. His previous film Retro had opened at Rs 19.25 crore, while period action drama Kanguva had an even stronger start at Rs 24 crore net. For Trisha as well, Karuppu trails behind her recent big-ticket releases, including Thug Life, directed by Mani Ratnam, which opened at Rs 15.5 crore, and Good Bad Ugly alongside Ajith Kumar, which had a massive Rs 29.25 crore opening.

RJ Balaji gets emotional

RJ Balaji, who had an emotional breakdown on Thursday after the film failed to release, was seen celebrating on Friday morning. The director attended an FDFS (First Day First Show), where fans were seen hooting, whistling, and cheering as they watched the commercial entertainer.

Watching the audience’s overwhelming response, Balaji got emotional and expressed his joy by screaming and throwing his arms in the air. He was seen watching the film from the balcony alongside Karthi, brother of Suriya, and the film’s lead actress Trisha Krishnan.

After his celebratory moment, Balaji walked up to Trisha and warmly hugged her. Videos of his emotional celebration soon went viral on social media.