Highest Grossing Tamil Movies 2016 (Overseas): 'Theri,' '24' rule the box office in first half of the year

Kollywood has witnessed a record-breaking 108 releases in the first half of 2016. Between January and June, the Tamil film industry has managed to deliver a few big hits at the box office and the success rate remains at eight to nine percent in the first six months of the year.

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The year started with a lot of hopes. In 2016, there were no big releases of A-list stars during Pongal, a season considered to be one of the biggest in the Tamil industry, and this benefited other growing stars. 

Sivakarthikeyan's movie "Rajini Murugan" was the biggest among the lot and released along with a few films, including "Tharai Thappattai." But only Siva's movie emerged victorious and became the first hit of 2016 in Kollywood. It is followed by "Aranmanai 2," which got fantastic opening but failed to rake in the moolah. 

The surprise hit was "Irudhi Suttru," which ruled the box office in Tamil Nadu in February. It is followed by Vijay Sethupathi's "Sethupathi," which struck gold at the box office. His other film "Kadhalum Kadanthu Pogum" was also received well by overseas audience. "Thozha" too performed well to some extent. 

The sleeper hit in the first half of 2016 remains "Pichaikkaran." The Vijay Anthony-starrer turned out to be a profitable venture for the producer, distributors and exhibitors.

Vijay's "Theri" dominated the market in the second quarter of 2016. The makers have revealed that it has grossed over Rs. 150 crore worldwide. Suriya's "24" did good business in a couple of centres.

In the overseas centres, "Theri" and "24" have done fantastic business. Below, find the list of top 10 grossing Tamil films in the first half of 2016: