Tamil cinema is a part of Indian cinema based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The films are made primarily in the Tamil language. Chintamani (1937) and Haridas (1944) are landmark films from the early stages of Tamil cinema. Chintamani was the first major box office success, while Haridas is noted for its significant impact and long theatrical run, reflecting the industry's development before its formal establishment post-independence. This ranking lists the highest-grossing Tamil films produced by Tamil cinema, based on conservative global box office estimates as reported by organizations classified as green by Wikipedia. The figures are not adjusted for inflation. However, there is no official tracking of figures, and sources publishing data are frequently pressured to increase their estimates.
Key
Highest-grossing films The top grossing films worldwide with a minimum of ₹200 crore are listed here.
RankTitleWorldwide grossYear12.0₹700–800 crore20182Jailer₹605–650 crore20233Leo₹595–615 crore20234Coolie crore2025 5Ponniyin Selvan: I₹500 crore20226The Greatest of All Time₹440–460 crore20247Vikram₹424–500 crore20228Ponniyin Selvan: II₹342–346 crore20239 Amaran320–335 crore202410 Jana Nayagan 2026 11Kabali₹320 crore201612 Karuppu 2026 13Varisu₹290–293 crore202314Bigil₹285–300 crore201915Enthiran₹283–320 crore201016Sarkar₹253 crore201817Vettaiyan crore2024 18Mersal₹250 crore201719Darbar₹250 crore202020I₹239–240 crore201521Master₹220–300 crore202122Petta₹220–240 crore201923Vishwaroopam₹220 crore201324Beast ₹216–300 crore202225 Good Bad Ugly₹200–248.25 crore202526 Vishwanath & Sons 202627Dasavathaaram₹200 crore2008
Highest-grossing films by market India
RankTitleTotal grossYear12.0₹519.65 crore20182Leo20233Jailer20234Coolie₹323 crore20255Ponniyin Selvan: I20226The Greatest of All Time20247Vikram20228 Amaran₹258 crore20249Karuppu₹240 crore202610Enthiran₹235 crore2010
Tamil Nadu RankTitleTotal grossYear1Leo₹231 crore20232Ponniyin Selvan: I₹222 crore20223The Greatest of All Time₹220 crore20244Jailer₹189 crore20235Vikram₹181 crore20226 Karuppu₹165 crore20267 Amaran₹161 crore20248Good Bad Ugly₹146 crore20259 Bigil₹145.80 crore201910 Master₹145.5 crore2021
Andhra Pradesh and Telangana RankTitleTotal grossYear12.0₹94 crore20182Jailer₹84 crore20233Coolie₹68.50 crore20254Enthiran₹64 crore20105I₹51 crore20156Leo₹48 crore20237 Amaran₹45 crore20248Vaathi₹43.30 crore20159Karuppu₹37.50 crore202610Vikram₹36.75 crore2022
Karnataka RankTitleTotal grossYear1Jailer₹63 crore202322.0₹51 crore20183 Coolie₹45 crore20254Leo₹41 crore20235The Greatest of All Time₹27.95 crore20246Ponniyin Selvan: I₹27.20 crore20227 Amaran₹24.50 crore20248Vikram₹24 crore20229Karuppu₹23.50 crore2026 10Kabali₹21.10 crore2016
Kerala RankTitleTotal grossYear1Leo₹60 crore20232Jailer₹57.75 crore20233Vikram₹40 crore20224 Coolie₹25 crore20255Ponniyin Selvan: I₹24.30 crore202262.0₹22.40 crore20187Mersal₹20 crore20178I₹19.50 crore20159Bigil₹19.10 crore201910Ponniyin Selvan: II₹19 crore2023
Highest-grossing films by opening day
RankTitleWorldwide grossYear1Coolie₹151 crore20252Leo₹140–148.50 crore20233The Greatest of All Time₹126.32 crore202442.0₹100 crore20185Kabali87.5 crore20166Jailer₹70–87 crore20237Ponniyin Selvan: I₹78.29 core20228Jana Nayagan₹78 crore20269Sarkar₹69–75 crore201810Beast₹72.67 crore2022
Highest-grossing films by month MonthTitleWorldwide grossYearJanuaryVarisu₹290–293 crore2023FebruaryVishwaroopam₹220 crore2013MarchEtharkkum Thunindhavan₹71.40–200 crore2022AprilPonniyin Selvan: II₹342–346 crore2023May Karuppu₹310–315 crore2026 JuneVikram₹435–500 crore2022JulyRaayan₹160 crore2024AugustJailer₹605–650 crore2023SeptemberPonniyin Selvan: I₹500 crore2022OctoberLeo₹595–615 crore2023November2.0₹666–800 crore2018DecemberLingaa₹158 crore2014
Highest-grossing films by year
YearTitleWorldwide gross2010Enthiran₹290–305 crore20117 Aum Arivu₹105 crore2012Thuppakki₹121 crore2013Vishwaroopam₹220 crore2014Lingaa₹158 crore2015I₹239 crore2016Kabali₹305 crore2017Mersal₹220 crore20182.0₹700–800 crore2019Bigil₹285–300 crore2020Darbar₹250 crore2021Master₹220–300 crore2022Ponniyin Selvan: I₹500 crore2023Jailer₹605–650 crore2024The Greatest of All Time₹440–460 crore2025Coolie₹514–675 crore2026Jana Nayagan₹320–325 crore
Highest-grossing franchises +
See also List of highest-grossing Indian films List of highest-grossing Hindi films List of highest-grossing Indian Bengali films List of highest-grossing Marathi films List of highest-grossing Punjabi-language films List of highest-grossing South Indian films List of highest-grossing Kannada films List of highest-grossing Malayalam films List of highest-grossing Telugu films List of highest-grossing films in India
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References