Thaai Kizhavi Day 2 Box Office Collection – 1st Saturday

Thaai Kizhavi arrived in Tamil Nadu cinemas on Friday, February 27, 2026, and immediately made its presence felt. According to Sacnilk, the film collected ₹2.50 crore net and ₹2.90 crore India gross on Day 1 across 805 shows, drawing an impressive 2,04,696 footfalls — a genuinely strong opening for a content film with no conventional mass hero carrying the box office weight. For context, this is a film where the lead role is played by a veteran actress, directed by a complete debutant, and produced by Sivakarthikeyan under his banner Sivakarthikeyan Productions alongside Sudhan Sundaram’s Passion Studios. A ₹2.50 crore net opening under those conditions is not just solid — it is a loud statement about the quality of the material and the trust Tamil audiences continue to place in Sivakarthikeyan’s production choices.

The word of mouth from Day 1 is outstanding by any measure. Critics have called Thaai Kizhavi a film that respects its characters, trusts its audience, and has more on its mind than its cheerful surface suggests — announcing Tamil cinema’s discovery of a new voice worth paying attention to. Radikaa Sarathkumar steals the show in Thaai Kizhavi despite limited screen presence, with her portrayal of Pavunuthaayi brilliantly subverting the tired stereotype of the elderly matriarch in Tamil cinema. Social media in Tamil Nadu has been buzzing since the first shows went live, with X (formerly Twitter) flooded with enthusiastic recommendations, many calling it one of the most enjoyable Tamil films in the first two months of 2026. The story follows Pavunuthayi, a formidable village matriarch whose sons scramble to locate her hidden gold after she falls gravely ill, and the dark comedy that unfolds in that setup is landing beautifully with audiences.

Now heading into Day 2 — its first Saturday — Thaai Kizhavi is positioned for a sharp upward jump. Based on the opening day trend and a controlled budget under ₹10 crore, the film is currently on track to be a hit, with trade analysts noting that the final verdict will depend on the Monday hold. BookMyShow occupancy data for Saturday shows a noticeably stronger trend compared to Day 1, with multiplex shows in Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, and Tirunelveli posting healthy advance booking fills. Early Day 2 estimates are tracking at ₹3.50 crore to ₹4.00 crore net India — a jump that would push the two-day total comfortably past ₹6 crore and set up a first-weekend tally that could make this a clean hit by Sunday evening.

Thaai Kizhavi Day 2 Box Office Collection in India

Early estimate.

2 Days India Net Collection: ₹6.00–6.50 Cr (est.) 

2 Days India Gross Collection: ₹7.14–7.73 Cr (est.) 

2 Days Overseas Collection: ₹25–40 Lakh (est.) 

2 Days Worldwide Collection: ₹7.39–8.13 Cr (est.) 

Budget: ₹10 Cr (Production + P&A)

About Thaai Kizhavi and Future Prediction

Thaai Kizhavi is a 2026 Tamil comedy drama directed and written by debutant Sivakumar Murugesan, produced by Sivakarthikeyan and Sudhan Sundaram under Sivakarthikeyan Productions and Passion Studios, and distributed by Prime Media. The film stars Radikaa Sarathkumar as Pavunuthaayi — a fierce, foul-mouthed village moneylender who rules her community with an iron fist. When she becomes bedridden, her sons and relatives scramble around her bedside, desperately trying to interpret her silent hand gestures to find out where her hidden wealth is stashed, turning her near-death moment into a comic circus of greed, nostalgia, and unexpected emotion. The supporting cast includes Singampuli, Aruldoss, Ilavarasu, George Maryan, Munishkanth, Bala Saravanan, Vettai Muthukumar, and Raichal Rabecca, with music composed by Nivas K. Prasanna and cinematography by Vivek Vijayakumar. The runtime is 2 hours 24 minutes. JioHotstar has acquired the film’s digital streaming rights, which will provide a strong post-theatrical revenue stream for the producers.

Sivakarthikeyan was so impressed by Sivakumar Murugesan’s script when he first heard it that he immediately signed the director for two films on the same day — Thaai Kizhavi as producer, and Seyon as actor — underlining the depth of confidence he placed in the filmmaker from the very beginning. That instinct appears to have paid off handsomely. The film teems with interesting and hilarious characters seamlessly woven into the story, with one particular standout being a homeless loafer whose one-sided conversations with the village deity Karuppan provide some of the most enjoyable moments on Tamil screens in recent memory — humour that is not just rurally quirky but deeply political and witty. The casting choices, situational comedy, rooted storytelling, and superb use of iconic Tamil film music spanning eras from MSV to Ilaiyaraaja, A.R. Rahman, and Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy have all been highlighted as major strengths.

For the lifetime prediction, Thaai Kizhavi is now firmly in hit territory even before the weekend closes, given that its budget sits under ₹10 crore all-in. A first weekend close to ₹12–14 crore net would be an exceptional outcome and set up a lifetime in the ₹18–25 crore net range — a remarkable return for a low-budget rural dark comedy led by a veteran actress and helmed by a first-time director. The overseas Tamil diaspora circuit has been relatively quiet so far, but strong social media chatter among Tamil communities in the USA, UK, Singapore, and the Gulf could meaningfully boost numbers in the coming days. Whether Thaai Kizhavi ultimately becomes a quiet sleeper hit or a full-blown blockbuster in proportion to its budget, it has already done what great Tamil films do best — made audiences feel, laugh, and think all at once.

Disclaimer: 

• Box office figures in this article are independently estimated by Tenvow based on an internal tracking methodology that evaluates theatre occupancy trends, distributor feedback, and regional trade indicators.
• The data reflects industry estimates available at the time of publication and may vary slightly from officially reported or audited figures released later.
• These figures should be considered preliminary and indicative, not official confirmations.
• Tenvow does not guarantee absolute accuracy of the data and presents it solely for informational purposes.
• All financial figures are stated in Indian Rupees (INR) and represented in crores, unless specified otherwise.
• All dates and times mentioned follow Indian Standard Time (IST) (UTC +5:30).