Leo, starring Thalapathy Vijay and Lokesh Kanagaraj, is the first Tamil movie to make $400 million before its release. across all platforms creates a record. Full report
After Vikram, Lokesh Kanagaraj has plans to create a gangster universe starring some of the biggest personalities in Indian cinema, primarily from the Tamil film industry. The director said that Thalapathy Vijay will star in his upcoming film, Leo, and ever since that revelation, Leo has dominated the domestic box office. Why not, then? It represents the marriage of two of Tamil cinema’s top crowd-pleasers. The gangster drama is supported by a strong cast that features Sanjay Dutt in the role of the adversary. It is anticipated to be a major Pan India release and will debut in October 2023.
Netflix gets Leo for Rs 120 crore
Leo is a hot property for the purchasers, we learn even before a single frame of the movie is out for the public to decide. With the acquisition of the satellite, digital, audio, and theatrical rights, Leo is reportedly on track to become the first Tamil film to achieve a pre-release recovery of Rs 400 crore. “Netflix has purchased the digital rights to Leo for a fee of Rs. 120 crore” (Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Kannada). Sun TV holds the satellite rights, which cost Rs 70 crore, while Sony Music paid Rs 18 crore for the music rights.
Set Max and Goldmines are competing for the Hindi dubbed satellite rights, and a transaction will be finalised in a week. According to a person familiar with the situation, Hindi dubbed satellite programming costs somewhere in the neighbourhood of Rs 30 crore.
Leo theatrical rights pegged at Rs 175 crore
The worldwide theatre rights are estimated to be worth Rs 175 crore, while the non-theatrical recovery is almost Rs 240 crore. “Although Tamil Nadu’s rights are valued at Rs 75 crore, the abroad rights are asking for Rs 50 crore. Thirty-five crore rupees is the asking amount for Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Kerala. A figure of Rs 15 crore is assigned to the remainder of India, the person continued. The industry anticipates a record-breaking box office performance from Leo and Thalapathy Vijay this Dusserah, with Lokesh Kanagaraj in charge of operations. Leo is the first Tamil film to generate Rs 400 crore via pre-sales, and the pre-release statistics are a record across the market and platforms.
For those who don’t know, Leo is a member of LCU, which already boasts titles like Kaithi and Vikram. The LCU will grow even further with a stand-alone movie about Rolex, starring Suriya. There are several additional movies in development, and formal announcements regarding this world will be made in due order. Leo is anticipated to be finished by August of this year and release on October 19 in theatres. For more developments, keep checking Pinkvilla.