In spite of huge expectations and enormous pre-release buzz, Suriya’s recent release Retro did not create much of an impact at the international box office. The action drama with mass elements and stylized storytelling, which was made on a huge budget, received a lukewarm response from the audience across geographies. Having completed its first weekend run, the movie could collect ₹72 crore globally, which is way below the expected figures for a Suriya-starrer.
Retro opened in theaters amidst reasonable buzz, particularly in Tamil Nadu, where Suriya has a sizeable fan following. But word-of-mouth and reviews didn’t turn positive after release, and the theatrical run of the film fell sharply as the weekend wore on. Adding to the woes was the release of Tourist Family, a small film that unexpectedly picked up among the family audience and nibbled heavily into Retro’s share in most centers.
Retro 1st Weekend Box Office: Regional Breakdown
Locally, in its home state Tamil Nadu, Retro earned about ₹36 crore gross in 4 days, which is modest for a Suriya big-banner film. Although the first day was decent due to advance bookings and star value, footfalls began to dip from day two, particularly in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities.
In Kerala, the film earned around ₹4 crore, which is a reasonably poor show. With Suriya having a fairly decent market in Kerala, trade anticipated at least ₹6–7 crore from the weekend business, but the movie was unable to register footfalls as a result of mixed reactions and Malayalam competition.
The Telugu states also responded negatively, with the film grossing only ₹5.5 crore in the Telugu states. The dubbed film failed to impress the local population, and the lack of proper publicity also added to its weakness in these regions.
In Karnataka and the Rest of India (ROI), Retro earned an estimated ₹6.5 crore, taking the all-India gross to ₹52 crore after its opening weekend.
Retro Overseas Collections: Just About Decent
Offshore markets, particularly in the UAE, Malaysia, and US, reported middling occupancy, with the film raking about ₹20 crore abroad. While that may seem respectable on paper, it is insufficient to counter the local underperformance. At a worldwide weekend total of ₹72 crore, Retro now has an uphill climb ahead of it to even reach the ₹100 crore mark—a benchmark which is normally thought to be the breakeven for such scale movies.
Tourist Family Threatens Retro’s Grasp
Part of the surprising setback for Retro was Tourist Family, an affordable film with a release on the same date. Although it was expected to be overshadowed by the Suriya-led film, Tourist Family took off at speed, especially with urban families and multiplexgoers.
With good word-of-mouth and positive feedback, Tourist Family is nibbling into Retro’s market share in major centers, particularly in Chennai, Bengaluru, and Kochi. The light-hearted family drama and emotional content of the film have certainly found more acceptors than Retro’s stylized but clichéd action template.
Furthermore, Tourist Family experienced improved occupancy on Sunday at a number of places—a top concern for Retro’s weekday possibilities. If it keeps going that way, the Suriya-starrer could see increased decline in collections in the coming days.
Can Retro Still Recover?
The question now is whether Retro can recover its box office performance in the next week. Unfortunately, the pre-bookings for Monday and Tuesday are weak, indicating a poor hold and declining audience interest. The decline in footfalls following the first weekend usually decides the fate of a film’s longevity, and if Retro does not hold up, the film can turn out to be a commercial failure.
Although it has a strong technical backing and a strong central performance by Suriya, the critics have criticized that the movie fails to deliver emotional depth and new storytelling, a reason for which the lukewarm box office response. Further, its story and pace have been termed as uneven, unable to sustain attention after the initial premise.
Trade experts opine that unless the movie does exceptionally well in some foreign markets or experiences a miraculous turn around because of weekday word-of-mouth, closing below ₹100 crore globally appears very much on the cards. That would be a disappointing outcome for the makers as well as the fans, given the scale of production and Suriya’s brand equity.
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Conclusion: An Uphill Battle for Suriya’s Retro
Retro’s opening weekend proved to be a wake-up call that star power is not sufficient to ensure success in the modern box office climate. With such content-driven fare as Tourist Family gaining prominence, it becomes clear that people’s tastes are changing at breakneck speed.
Though Suriya’s performance has received some appreciation, it has not been enough to override the shortcomings of the story of the film. The producers now have the challenge of handling expectations while attempting to retrieve the reputation of the film through a potential push in satellite and OTT spaces.
Unless weekday traffic picks up severely, Retro is facing a brief run in theaters and potentially a disappointing last weekend gross. Suriya’s fans will now wait and watch if his forthcoming film is able to restore the box office superiority he’s used to.
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