Top 10 most profitable Tamil movies of 2022

Tamil cinema is one of the biggest film industries in India, with more than 100 films being produced every year. While the number of films being churned out is significantly high, only a few films fetch profit for the producers.

Thanks to the arrival of OTT platforms, some of the well-connected producers managed to get back their investment and witness handsome profits despite delivering mediocre films. But, 2023, is going to be a different game altogether as these OTT platforms have stopped premiering films and they have also considerably reduced the purchase costs.

In this scenario, The Federal separates the wheat from the chaff to discuss the films that actually raked in the moolah for the makers this year.

 Tamil cinema’s Top Ten profitable movies of 2022:

1) Love Today

Undeniably, Love Today is the most profitable film of the year. The film collected more than ₹60 crores in Tamil Nadu and the overall gross is around ₹85 crore with additional revenue from the Telugu states, Kerala, Karnataka, and overseas.

Made on a reasonable budget, the film’s producers also got handsome offers from Netflix and Sun TV. The producers have made phenomenal profits with the film. Not just in 2022, Love Today is one of the biggest blockbusters in the history of Tamil cinema.

2) Ponniyin Selvan-1

Generally, there is a common perception in the industry that when you make films on a grand scale, the profits will be meagre and the producers are making such films only for pomp and show. However, with the terrific planning and creative brilliance of Mani Ratnam, the budget of the two parts of Ponniyin Selvan has already been recovered just with the release of the first part. To top it all, Madras Talkies and Lyca Productions have also witnessed good profits, said sources.

Ponniyin Selvan has registered a whopping ₹500 crore in revenue worldwide. The sequel will only earn more profits for the producers.

Also read: South Indian films that bombed big time at the box-office in 2022

3) Vikram

Kamal Haasan, who was off the radar in the box-office game, is back in the business with Vikram. The film mopped up around revenue collections of ₹430 crore worldwide. Wiz-kid director Lokesh Kanagaraj has made the film at a decent budget for a multi-starrer and fetched massive profits for the producers Raaj Kamal Films International.

4) Thiruchitrambalam

Before the release of the film, Dhanush’s Thiruchitrambalam didn’t generate any buzz in the trade. But from the evening show of the first day, positive word of mouth spread like wildfire and eventually ended up as the highest grosser in Dhanush’s career. The film collected around ₹105 crores (gross) worldwide.

Post-pandemic, everyone thought only grand films would attract audiences but Thiruchitrambalam changed that perception.

5) Don

Sivakarthikeyan’s Don is another film that was released with not much pre-publicity buzz, but the film did roaring business and collected around ₹115 crores at the worldwide box office. In 2022, both Don and Ponniyin Selvan were profitable Tamil films for Lyca Productions, besides dubbed hits like RRR, Pushpa: The Rise, and Sita Ramam.

6) Sardar

Karthi’s Sardar clashed against Sivakarthikeyan’s Prince during Diwali. Before the release, the Sivakarthikeyan-starrer had an upper hand but Sardar earned positive word of mouth and attracted audiences during the holiday season. Sardar collected around ₹100 crores (gross) at the box office.

7) Viruman

2022 belongs to Karthi, as all three films of the actors are in the top ten list. Viruman’s reviews were mixed but the rural entertainer worked with the B and C centres. With around ₹22 crore share in Tamil Nadu, the film was a profitable venture for the buyers and producers.

Also read: 19 controversies that rocked South Indian film industries in 2022

8) Kaathuvaakula Rendu Kaadhal

There was a lot of anticipation and hype around Kaathuvaakula Rendu Kaadhal before its release and the film also capitalised on this buzz at the box office. While all Vijay Sethupathi’s solo films tanked at the box office, Kaathuvaakula Rendu Kaadhal grossed around ₹60 crore worldwide. Anirudh’s hit songs, the presence of two female superstars Nayanthara and Samantha, and the quirky concept of Vignesh Shivan helped the film big time.

9) Beast and Valimai

Beast and Valimai are big grossers of the year but taking profits into account, we have ranked them in the 9th position. Both, it must be noted that Vijay’s Beast and Ajith’s Valimai earned mixed reviews from the audience. While Beast grossed around ₹235 crore worldwide, Valimai earned around ₹200 crore.

As the production cost of both these films was huge, the producers may not have made substantial profits.

10) Etharkkum Thunindhavan and Vendhu Thanindhadhu Kaadu

Though the reviews of Etharkkum Thunindhavan were quite positive, this mass entertainer only earned decent profits for the producers. As the film was released two weeks before S S Rajamouli’s blockbuster RRR and two weeks after Ajith’s action thriller Valimai, the revenues of this Suriya-starrer got affected.

Silambarasan TR’s Vendhu Thanindhadhu Kaadu also earned good profits for the producers, however, the film’s run in theatres was disrupted by the arrival of Mani Ratnam’s Ponniyin Selvan 1, which was released fifteen days after the Silambarasan TR starrer.

Other small and medium-budget hits of 2022

Apart from the above-mentioned films, Tamil cinema also delivered a few hits in the small and medium-budget categories. Films like Arun Vijay’s Yaanai, Vishnu Vishal’s FIR and Gatta Kusthi, Arulnithi’s Diary, RJ Balaji’s Veetla Vishesam, Udhayanidhi’s Nenjukku Needhi, and Sathish’s Naai Sekar earned good profits for the buyers.

OTT hits

As mentioned earlier, a few producers earned good profits by selling their films to OTT platforms. Some of the content was good and many were downright bad. Nevertheless, films like Anbarivu, Mahaan, Maaran, Oh My Dog, Koogle Kuttappa, Saani Kaayidham, O2, and Taanakkaran turned out to be profitable ventures for its producers.