Rajinikanth’s Jailer 2 has become the highest-grossing Tamil film ever at the Indian box office, overtaking the lifetime total of his own 2018 release 2.0 in 17 days.
The Nelson-directed sequel has earned Rs 520.35 crore gross in India, narrowly ahead of 2.0’s Rs 519 crore, according to trade tracker Sacnilk figures carried by the Daily Mirror. The gap is wider in net terms: Jailer 2 stands at Rs 444.75 crore net in India against 2.0’s Rs 407.05 crore.
A first across the southern markets
The film is the first Indian release to cross Rs 75 crore gross in each of the four major southern markets. In Tamil Nadu it has passed Rs 200 crore gross — the first Rajinikanth film to do so in his home state. The next benchmarks there are the state’s lifetime records, held by Vijay’s The Greatest of All Time and Leo.
Worldwide, Jailer 2 reached Rs 790.85 crore after 17 days, including an estimated Rs 270.50 crore from overseas markets — well above 2.0’s overseas haul of Rs 172 crore. It had overtaken 2.0’s Rs 691 crore worldwide lifetime total during its second weekend. Early estimates for Sunday put it past Rs 800 crore, with a total of around Rs 805 crore expected after 18 days. North America, the Middle East, Malaysia and Singapore have been its strongest overseas territories.
On the all-language India gross list for Tamil films, 2.0 is now second (Rs 519 crore India, Rs 691 crore worldwide) and 2023’s Jailer third (Rs 408.74 crore India, Rs 604.74 crore worldwide). Vijay’s Leo, also from 2023, follows with Rs 401.90 crore in India, though its worldwide total of Rs 605.90 crore edges Jailer’s. Coolie (2025) completes the top five.
Two milestones, five days apart
This is the India domestic record, and it should not be confused with the worldwide one. The Daily Mirror reported Jailer 2 passing 2.0’s global lifetime total in late October, when the film’s worldwide gross reached about Rs 710.35 crore on day 11. The headline “Jailer 2 becomes highest-grossing Tamil film” has therefore appeared twice this fortnight for two different measures. The milestone reported here is the Indian box office total, reached on day 17.
Not reported
All figures are trade estimates attributed to Sacnilk rather than audited studio returns, and the Sunday and day-18 totals are explicitly early estimates. The filing gives no Sri Lankan box office figures and no screen counts, and does not state the film’s production budget. This report rests on a single verified newsroom: a search of the other verified Sri Lankan and international outlets on this desk’s list found no independent filing on the Indian-gross milestone, with the specialist Indian trade press that originated the numbers falling outside that list.