Mersal, Vijay, Atlee, Nithya Menen
Vijay and Nithya Menen in MersalFacebook

Ilayathalapathy Vijay enjoys a humongous fan following in Kerala with his movies often performing remarkably well in the south Indian state. Ardent fans of the action star are eagerly waiting to see him on the big screen as Maruthuvar Thilagam Maaran in the highly anticipated film Mersal, scheduled to hit the screens worldwide as a Diwali release.

Also check: Mersal pre-release business: Vijay's film zooms past Rs 150-crore mark

Considering the huge hype around Mersal, it is expected to break some records at the worldwide box office. The Atlee directorial, which has already made a pre-release business of almost Rs 150 crore, is also likely to perform well at the Kerala box office upon its grand release on Wednesday, October 18. Global United Media is said to have bagged the Kerala theatrical rights of Mersal for Rs 7 crore.

Mersal's target at Kerala box office

Mersal is expected to emerge as the highest grossing movie of Vijay so far in the state, breaking the record of Atlee directed Theri that earned Rs 3.16 crore on the opening day at the Kerala box office.

However, it is the magnum opus Baahubali: The Conclusion that tops the list of biggest opening day grossers in Kerala by earning Rs 6.27 crore. In order to become the top grosser among the Tamil movies, Vijay-starrer will have to break the record of Rajinikanth's blockbuster Kabali, which collected Rs 4.27 crore in Kerala on day one of its theatrical run.

Advance booking open

Vijay fans have confirmed that Mersal will have a record number of fan shows in Kerala. The advance bookings for the action thriller have already started on BookMyShow and a majority of shows have either 'filling fast' or 'almost full' status. The 10 am show at Q Cinemas in Kochi was listed as houseful. Looking at the pre-booking status and record fan shows, it is clear that Mersal will be screened with many houseful shows on the first day in Kerala.

Check Bairavaa opening day collection at Kerala box office

In a poll conducted on the Twitter page of Malayalam Review, almost 60 percent of netizens think that Mersal will make an all-time day one record in Kerala. Others are of the opinion that it will earn over Rs 4 crore on day one at the Kerala box office alone.

Vijay's previous release Bairavaa opening day collection

Vijay's previous release Bairavaa had over 625 shows on the opening day throughout the state, with 50 shows at Kochi multiplexes alone. From the multiplexes, the movie earned a collection of approximately Rs 12.58 lakh, but failed to break the record of Theri, which is said to have earned Rs 12.87 lakhs. The movie collected a gross amount of Rs 10.3 lakh from Ariesplex in Thiruvananthapuram with over 98 percent theatre occupancy.