Ahead of The GOAT OTT release, Venkat Prabhu thanks God

The latest Tamil movie, The Greatest of All Time (The GOAT), has completed 25 days in theatres, meaning its OTT release, starring Thalapathy Vijay in the lead, is just around the corner. Ahead of its streaming debut, director Venkat Prabhu marked the milestone by expressing gratitude.

"God is kind!!! Thanks to each and every one of you who made our #GOAT #TheGreatestOfAllTime a Mega BLOCKBUSTER," tweeted Venkat Prabhu, along with a special promo for The GOAT.

ALSO READ: Thalapathy Vijay's The GOAT sets a box office record in Kerala—but not the good kind

While Venkat Prabhu may be pleased that his movie has crossed the Rs 400 crore mark globally, its performance at the box office, outside Tamil Nadu, has fallen short of expectations.

According to reports, The GOAT's global earnings stand at over Rs 451 crore after 25 days in theatres, though it has seen a sharp decline in footfalls this week, including in Tamil Nadu, following the release of new films such as Meiyazhagan, Devara Part 1, and Lubber Pandhu.

The Rs 450 crore global earnings are less impressive when considering the movie’s hefty production cost of around Rs 400 crore. Factoring in promotional expenses, the overall cost for producers may be even higher. For a film with such a large budget, the box office numbers are underwhelming.

Reportedly, Vijay’s salary alone was Rs 200 crore, while the remaining Rs 200 crore covered production costs and payments for the rest of the cast and crew. Although Vijay’s immense stardom helped The GOAT gross Rs 450 crore globally, Venkat Prabhu's direction has received mixed reviews, contributing to the film’s sub-par performance in both domestic and international markets.

Of the Rs 450 crore, over Rs 200 crore was earned in Tamil Nadu alone, where The GOAT became one of the biggest hits in the state’s box office history, offering some consolation to the producers.

Despite the box office underperformance, the producers have managed to recoup their investment through non-theatrical revenue. The streaming rights for The GOAT were reportedly sold for over Rs 90 crore. The movie is set to debut on Netflix next week.

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