vetrimaran flop movies

Vetrimaaran All Films Hit Flop Box Office Analysis

• By bollywoodfever
• Posted in Home
• Published September 6, 2021
• Updated September 6, 2021
• 2 mins read

Vetrimaaran All Films Hit Flop Box Office Analysis Filmography Release Date Box Office Verdict Success Ratio

Vetrimaaran  is an Indian film director, screenwriter and film producer, who works in the Tamil film industry.

As of 2016, he has won five National Film Awards and two Filmfare Award South.

He was born on 4 September 1975 in Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu, India.

Vetrimaaran’s father Dr. V. Chitravel was a veterinary scientist and his mother Megala Chitravel is a noted novelist.

He was born in Cuddalore, He then moved to Ranipet.

Vetrimaaran made his directorial debut with the  Polladhavan  (2007).

His second feature film  Aadukalam  (2011) won six National Film Awards.

He produces films under his production company, Grass Root Film Company.

His movie  Visaranai  (2016) was selected as India’s official entry to the Academy Awards.

His film  Asuran  (2019) was named as the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil.

In 27 September, 2020, Vetrimaaran was honored by a Special Award “Thirai Asuran” in a virtual conference appreciating his effort talking about long time issue Panchami Land in his last movie  Asuran  by Ambedkar Makkal Iyakkam.

Vetrimaaran has made a short film for the anthology  Paava Kadhaigal  (2020).

Each of the films touches upon the issue of honour killing. Maaran has made “Oor Iravu”.

As Director

Total Number Of Films : 06  

Blockbuster : 00

Super Hit/ Hit  :  05

Semi Hit / Average  :  00

Below Average/Flop/Disaster : 00

Success Ratio : 100%

OTT Release : 01

Note success ratio calculated considering ATBB blockbuster Super hit hit semi hit above average and average movies

Disclaimer: The Box Office Data are compiled from various sources and by our own research. These data can be approximate and Bollywood fever does not make any claims about the authenticity of the data.

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Every Vetrimaaran Movie Ranked and Where to Watch Them

Published on.

Shaurya Singh Thapa

Official JustWatch writer

Known for his gritty crime dramas, underdog heroes, and numerous collaborations with actor Dhanush , Vetrimaaran has established himself as one of Tamil film industry’s leading directors.

If you wish to know more about the Asuran and Vidhuthalai director’s filmography, we have got you covered with a complete streaming guide that leads you to all of Vetrimaaran’s movies and information you need on where to stream them online.

Which Vetrimaaran movies should I watch first? 

The best way to watch Vetrimaaran’s movies is in the same order as their release date, as this sequence would show how the director has only improved in his craft with every passing movie. Vetrimaaran made his directorial debut in 2007 with the action thriller Polladhavan . Dhanush played the lead character, a man whose fate changes after he buys a bike and later gets it stolen. Opening to rave reviews for Dhanush’s acting and Vetrimaaran’s directing, the movie spawned numerous remakes in other languages and popularised the Bajaj Pulsar (the bike featured in the movie) among Tamil youths.

The director and actor joined forces again for the drama Aadukalam . The 2011 hit found Dhanush’s protagonist embroiled in an unattainable romance and a rooster-fighting business. The movie earned Vetrimaaran a National Award for Best Director and Best Screenplay.

While Vetrimaaran’s first two movies addressed social themes like an economic class divide, his political themes got more evident in his third film: a police thriller titled Visaranai (also released as Interrogation). The gruelling social drama revolves around the fates of two men who are forced to confess to a crime after they are locked up by the cops. The film won a National Award for Best Tamil Film and also opened much debate and discourse over the ethics of the police force in Tamil Nadu.

Visaranai’s success opened the avenues for more ambitious projects like the period gangster epic Vada Chennai , yet again starring regular collaborator Dhanush. The movie charts an underdog’s journey between rival criminal factions in a fishing community in ‘70s-era South Chennai. Vada Chennai ended on a nail biting cliffhanger, teasing the possibility of a sequel that fans still await.

With Dhanush already starring in several anti-caste dramas, Vetrimaaran cast him again in Asuran. Addressing the oppression faced by marginalised castes, Asuran starred Dhanush as a hot-headed lower-caste youth who kills an oppressive upper-caste landlord. The ensuing chaos made for a violent, powerful, and relevant watch. As is the case with many Vetrimaaran films, Asuran also earned the National Award for Best Tamil Film. 

Why is Vidhuthalai Part 1 Vetrimaaran’s best movie to watch? 

Intending to direct a two-part saga next, Vetrimaaran directed Vidhuthalai Part 1 . Set in the 1980s and inspired by real-life politics of the era, Viduthalai explores the conflict between the police and a separatist group. However, neither side is good or bad as Vetrimaaran’s story explores the morally grey areas of the policemen and their atrocities as well. Boasting impressive performances by Vijay Sethupathi and Soori, Vidhuthalai is a gripping political thriller.

Where can I watch the best Vetrimaaran movies online? 

Below you can find the latest streaming information for every Vetrimaaran movie. This includes every offer for viewers in India today.

Viduthalai: Part I

Kumaresan, a police constable, gets recruited for an operation implanted to capture Perumal Vaathiyar, who leads a separatist group dedicated to fighting against the authorities for committing atrocities against innocent village women in the name of police interrogations.

Vada Chennai

A young carrom player in North Chennai becomes a reluctant participant in a war between two feuding gangsters.

The teenage son of a farmer from an underprivileged caste kills a rich, upper caste landlord. How the pacifist farmer saves his hot-blooded son is the rest of the story.

Pandi and his friends, immigrant workers in Andhra Pradesh, are picked up by cops for a crime they never committed. And thus begins their nightmare, where they become pawns in a vicious game where the voiceless are strangled by those with power.

Pettaikaaran is famous in his town for an impeccable track record of successes in rooster fights. When one of his aides, Karuppu, goes against his word in a fight, it leads to an enmity between them.

Polladhavan

Prabhu is dejected when he learns that his bike has been stolen. He decides to find the people who stole the bike, but lands in trouble when he realises that his bike has been used to transport drugs.

Every Vetrimaaran Film Ranked

Tamil filmmaker Vetrimaaran belongs to one of those breeds of director whose tight scripts, apt casting, and realistic treatment of storyline has made fundamental changes to the very nature of mainstream filmmaking. His films are made for a multi-cultural audience and backed by the strength of their storytelling and sculpted dialogue, which has reinvigorated the art of popular cinema with a breath of fresh air.

Related Read to Vetrimaaran Films: Every Lijo Jose Pellissery Film Ranked

Each of the films is imbued with a powerful, coherent aesthetic that guides viewers through a dark matrix. At its best, it augments a captivating narrative and sinks viewers into a world of social realism of rural Tamil Nadu. Even urban reality is being depicted showcasing more fallible and life-like characters. The cinema of the carnivalesque with its larger-than-life characters, melodramatic orientation and highly romanticized canvas is something that does not whet his appetite for creativity.

With a filmography of five features and one short film as a director, he has earned his reputation as the most one of the most accessible filmmakers of the last decade. His style involves artistically thriving with a soothing pace lending itself to an atmospheric work filled with oneiric undertones. Some viewers may find his films brutal and gut wrenching as it gets; yet, despite its ruthless depiction, it’s also surprisingly heartwarming.

5. Polladhavan (2007)

Vetrimaaran’s debut feature film opens up with a gruesome and brutal fighting sequence and then using the device of flashback, the filmmaker takes us into the dynamic world of contemporary Chennai, where an educated young man, Prabhu ( Dhanush ) fight injustice and in the process is forced to unleash the animal within him.

Also, Read: Every Sriram Raghavan Film Ranked

The protagonist of the film is an uneducated youth who due to turn of events confronts his father (Murali) and an argument regarding the responsibilities of parents towards their offspring ensues. As a result of this conflict, Prabhu gets a hefty amount from his father and he uses the money to purchase a Bajaj Pulsar bike. This appears to be a wise investment because owning the vehicle enables him to get a job and earn respect in society. But the situation takes a drastic turn when a gang of anti-socials steals his bike. Thereafter the film presents the viewers with the transformation of resilience into power and its hold over the life of an individual’s struggle to maintain his position in the harsh reality of everyday life.

The plot of the film has similarities with Wang Xiaoshuai’s Bejing Bicycle (2001). But the well worked out mise-en-scenes of Polladhavan makes it an entertaining tale of a casual urban carefree person’s conversion into a person of genuine worth and true dignity. Polladhavan was remade in Kannada as Punda, in Telugu as Kurradu starring Varun Sandesh, in Sinhala as Pravegeya, in Bengali as Borbaad (2014) and in Hindi as Guns of Banaras (2020). But none of them could achieve the excellence earned by the original version.

4. Visaranai (2016)

Based on the Tamil novel Lock Up by M. Chandrakumar, Vetrimaaran’s third outing in its first half has such brutal scenes of police torture that one could genuinely feel the bestial act of police torture. The viewers are compelled to cringe as well as empathize with the plight of four helpless souls. The narrative of the film can be divided into two sections-before and after the intermission. Four migrant workers are falsely accused in a burglary case that has taken place at a rich and affluent man’s bungalow. The police beat these four characters in black and blue and want them to confess. Not able to withstand the pain they agree to accept the charges. Once they are produced in the court the narrative of the film takes a twist and the viewers are presented with one shocking surprise after the other.

Related Read to Vetrimaaran Films: Salt Of The Earth (1954) : A Landmark American Independent Cinema On The Working Class  

The filmmaker displays superb craftsmanship and commitment to an engaging dramatic tale that ends in a tragedy. The film subtly depicts that the characters in the film become a victim because of the system that protected the criminal over the accuser. It is a deeply troubling film that is devoid of cathartic and healing moments. Vetrimaaran does not feel hesitant in constructing the brutal scene with ease and he is neither afraid to carve out its own unique style.

The film had its world premiere at the 72nd Venice International Film Festival, where it won the Amnesty International Italia Award. Back home it had won three National Film Awards- Best Feature Film in Tamil, Best Supporting Actor and Best Editing.

Watch Visaranai (2016) on Netflix

3. asuran (2019).

What becomes the last resort for a farmer who goes on the run with his family as he is compelled to protect his son, who has murdered a wealthy upper-caste landlord in a fit of vengeance? The reply should be to fight with the oppressing forces and reclaim his identity. That is exactly what Sivasaami (Dhanush) does to break away from the uncomfortable social status he has inherited. Based on the novel Vekkai by Poomani, Vetrimaaran’s screen adaptation is so watertight that every occurrence in the screenplay feels alluring.

Related Read to Vetrimaaran Films : Asuran (2019) Review: Rise, Asuran, Rise!

With Asuran Vetrimaaran continues his excellent cinematic flair as a director enhancing his commendable grasp on the tropes of mainstream cinema. The film also benefits from technical polish – the cinematography, background score and editing are all top-notch. Asuran too has gut-wrenching violence and prepares the viewer for the edge-of-seat tension. The narrative follows a rhythm where the plot is revealed without wasting much of the screen time. The film belongs to the genre of revenge saga told from the perspective of a lower caste protagonist.

It’s one of those mainstream films that fulfill a social purpose, for it’s hard to imagine anyone viewing Asuran and not abhorring the evil practice of casteism in our country and how it voluntarily degrade human values and status. At the Norway Tamil Film Festival Awards, 2020, Vetrimaaran won the award for best director. The film had won two National Film Awards- Best Feature Film in Tamil and Best Actor.

Read the Complete Review of Asuran (2019) Here

Watch asuran (2019) on prime video , 2. vada chennai (2018).

A tale of criminal activities narrated in a non-linear pattern over the span of more than a decade is the perfect recipe for a crime sage. Vetrimaaran’s narrative takes the viewers on a journey that lasts for nearly a hundred and sixty-four hours and introduces them to the world of guilt, regret and vital decisions leading to loyalty turned into betrayal. The protagonist of the film Anbu (Dhanush) is an expert carrom player but his life gets entwined into the world of crime. He gets pulled into the vortex so deeply that penitence alludes to him after a point in time.

Related Read to Vetrimaaran Films : Top Tamil Movies of 2018 and Where To Watch Them

With a multiple cast the story of the film is set in the underbellies of North Chennai as the title of the film implies and the theme of the film is more nuanced than the conventional black-and-white morality tales where evil is punished by good at the end. The film blatantly showcases the graphic world of crime and violence, investigates the nature of friendship, the ethics of vigilantism, and the nature of unhappiness. Vetrimaaran delves deeply into the minds of his tortured characters and explores how the men and women he depicts grapple with moral codes and their emotions.

He further engages with many of the most basic questions about our humanity and how we relate to one another in a complex world. The stylistic elements in the film earn comparisons, bearing marked connections to several of Vetrimaaran’s other films. The film won the Best Film (People’s Choice Award) at the Pingyao International Film Festival, 2018. At the Filmfare Awards South, Dhanush won the trophy for the Best Actor.

Read the Complete Review of Vada Chennai (2018) Here

Watch vada chennai (2018) on disney hotstar, 1. aadukalam (2011).

As the roosters combat in the arena with each other, it becomes a fight of the egos of the individuals who own the fowl. So, when Karuppu’s rooster emerges victorious he not only earns a lot of money but also the enmity of his boss Periyasamy (V. I. S. Jayapalan) and Rathnasamy (Naren). And from then onwards the life of our protagonist will be filled with one hurdle after the other as the tale of loyalty, self-esteem, deception, and honor unfolds.

Related Read to Vetrimaaran Films : 10 Great Tamil Movies You Can Stream On Netflix Right Now

In his sophomore, Vetrimaaran presents a varied cultural pattern of rural Tamil Nadu and uses realism, tradition, and contemporaneity, soaked in local flavor within the narrative structure of his tightly structured screenplay. The conflicts introduced within the plot points create tension by employing smart conventions that are able to sustain the viewer’s anticipation. The editing pattern of the film creates a commendable pace and multi-layered visual design that heightens the impact of the film. Though the filmmaker has openly admitted that he was inspired by the dogfighting scene of Amores Perros (2000), Vetrimaaran has infused his own style and poise within the film, which is anything by blatant copy.

Despite having strong content and potential for box-office success, filmmakers from another region could not dare to remake the film until now. The reason being the milieu of the film is so rooted in the soil of Tamil Nadu and that makes it the best film in the oeuvre of Vetrimaaran’s impressive career. At the 58th National Film Awards, the film won five awards-Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Editing, Best Choreography and Special Jury Award for Acting.

Special Mention: Oor Iravu (2020)

Oor Iravu is a part of the Tamil anthology drama Paava Kadhaigal (2020). Owing to its shorter running time, I have included it in the category of special mention. On the surface level of its narrative, the film depicts the tale of a daughter Sumathi (Sai Pallavi) who had eloped from her village and now she has reunited with her father Janakiraman (Prakash Raj). But as the story of the film moves forward we discover the sensitivity and intricacies of the complex human psyche of individual characters within the film.

Also, Read: Paava Kadhaigal (2020) Netflix: Sinful Filmmaking under the Garb of Hard Hitting Social Drama

Vetrimaaran treated the film with a style that is bold and innovative with the choice of a subject in which the form and content merge into one. The pacing is not fast like his other films rather it is a slow study of how Sumathi’s drastic decision had impacted the lives of various members of his family. Vetrimaaran did not deviate from his usual style of narrative exploration but he has brought an understated rhythm to the unfolding of the events.

There is a kind of freshness in his approach and courage displayed in choosing to build a film around the brutal concept of associating the honor of the family with the sanctity of a woman. The film ends on a depressing note as we realize that such evil things are a reality and will continue to happen unless and until the evils of casteism are not obliterated from our society.

Watch Oor Iravu (2020) on Netflix

Vetrimaaran links : imdb , wikipedia, trending right now.

Dipankar Sarkar is a freelance writer on various topics related to cinema. His articles have appeared in Scroll, The Hindu, Livemint, The Quint, The Tribune, Chandigarh, Upperstall, and vaguevisages.com amongst others.

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Viduthalai Part 1 movie review: Vetrimaaran film is not for the faint-hearted, questions police brutality without fear

Vetrimaaran's much-awaited movie viduthalai part 1 was released on friday. it features soori, gautham vasudev menon, vijay sethupathi, chetan and bhavani sre..

Vetrimaaran ’s Viduthalai Part 1, his most hard-hitting film since Visaranai, isn’t just another film on police brutality but one that exposes the inefficiency of a system which continues to prey upon the weak. The film, which is definitely not for the faint-hearted, is an elaborate, detailed exploration of abuse of power and it dives deep into the psyche of a man, an honest police constable, who is torn between his job and seeking the truth. Also read: Vetrimaaran, Pa Ranjith defend farmers' right to protest

The film is narrated from the perspective of Kumaresan (Soori), a righteous police constable who gets recruited into the team that has been on the hunt to capture Perumal aka Vaathiyar – The Mentor ( Vijay Sethupathi ), the leader of the local separatist group called Makkal Padai (People’s Army). Kumaresan joins the force with big dreams but little does he know that he would spend most of his time doing menial jobs – from delivering food to every check post through the forest to doing tower duty at night. When Kumaresan accidentally crosses paths with Vaathiyar and later plays a pivotal role in his capture, his beliefs about what’s right and wrong are questioned.

The film opens with a train blast and the visuals are easily the most chilling scenes one would've seen in Indian cinema in recent years. People’s Army is blamed for the attack which has resulted in 28 deaths and many severely injured. The police department launches operation ‘Ghost Hunt’ to capture Vaathiyar dead or alive. Cut to next shot, we see a bus being frisked at a check post and the police shoot down two men (for carrying weapons) in cold blood when they try to flee the scene. In both the scenes, some lives have been taken but the police killings are justified as they become newspaper headlines the next day. Viduthalai questions the ethics behind police brutality in the most uncomfortable, unflinching fashion. The fact that it narrates the story from the perspective of an innocent constable makes the experience more chilling than one can imagine.

The film unfolds like a crime drama and takes its own sweet time to set up its world. Apart from throwing the spotlight on police brutality, the story also discusses the state of politics in Tamil Nadu in the 1990s. Soori, who has so far played comic roles in his career, is a very interesting choice to play the central character. He becomes a silent spectator – just like most of us - to all the atrocities that happen in the name of police investigation. He brings out the innocence as well as helplessness of his character so effectively.

Vetrimaaran makes some very interesting casting choices. It’s a masterstroke to cast Gautham Vasudev Menon to play a key role. A filmmaker whose films (in the past) glorified cop killings now plays a cop in a film that exposes police brutality in the most hard-hitting fashion. Vijay Sethupathi as Vaathiyar is a no brainer. Even though he makes an extended cameo appearance, he leaves maximum impact in those scenes. Bhavani Sre is a talent to watch out for and the role of the women, who face the maximum brunt, is what makes Viduthalai disturbing at times.

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Here's Why Longlegs Movie Is Called 'Longlegs'

There is an appropriately creepy meaning behind the title of Neon Cinema's latest movie, Longlegs . 

The horror hit debuted in theaters on July 12, terrifying audiences worldwide with its gritty serial killer plot. 

The film stars Nicolas Cage and Maika Monroe and follows an FBI agent who starts to lose control of a case after discovering her mysterious connection to the killings she is looking into. 

Why Is Longlegs Called Longlegs?

Given the success of Neon Cinema's Longlegs , fans are curious to know why the movie is called that. 

The film's title is appropriately frightening, given the horrifying subject matter hidden within. 

The Longlegs title is in reference to the serial killer at the heart of the Oz Perkins-directed thriller . 

Nicolas Cage plays one of the primary villains of the movie, a deranged madman known to local authorities as Longlegs.

His moniker is never directly explained, but a comment from him at the beginning of the movie could indicate the inspiration behind his name. When first meeting Lee Harker during the opening scene, Longlegs' upper body is obstructed by the frame of the shot. 

Upon realizing that he is not talking to Lee on her level, he tells her, "I'm sorry, it seems I wore my long legs today. What happens if I just..." before abruptly crouching down. It seems that the Longlegs alter ego is derived from the serial killer's attempt at a joke.

Cage's bone-chilling big-screen character is under investigation by the FBI, having miraculously killed entire families without any evidence of him being there (aside from letters he leaves at the scene of the crime address, "Longlegs" ). 

Not much is known about Longleg's motives aside from the fact that he has some sort of connection to Satanism and the occult. It is assumed that the reason behind his killings has to do with a supposed sacred calling given to him by the devil. 

Longlegs has been in Maika Monroe's FBI agent Lee Harker's life from a young age, having visited her as a child (despite her not remembering as such). 

He then started his string of killings, taking out entire families (usually a husband, wife, and at least one daughter). 

Aside from killing locals in the Pacific Northwest, the film's serial killer is also a skilled dollmaker, crafting these bespoke mannequin figures modeled after his villains. 

The FBI and local authorities have no luck catching Longlegs and close the case decades before Agent Harker comes into the picture. 

However, Monroe's FBI agent bursts onto the scene, feeling this bizarre connection to the murders, bursting open the long-thought-cold case with revelations quickly piling on top of one another until she eventually comes face to face with Cage's deformed big bad ( read more about Longlegs' now iconic look ).

While the movie takes some twists and turns from there, Longlegs appropriately becomes its namesake. 

This is especially true when one considers the film's intent, which explores the glorification of serial killers and true crime in modern culture. With that knowledge in mind, it makes sense that the movie would bear his name. 

[ Longlegs Movie Plot Summary & Spoilers Explained ]

Longlegs is playing in theaters. 

Read more about Longlegs and other horror projects:

Here's When Longlegs' Streaming Release Is Expected to Happen

A Quiet Place: Day One Streaming: When Will It Release?

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From ‘Longlegs’ to ‘Fly Me to the Moon’ — lessons from Hollywood’s summer box office so far

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Is it just me or has the mood around the U.S. box office felt a bit less apocalyptic than earlier in the summer, when “The Fall Guy” and “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” struggled to put butts in seats?

Strong performances from “ Inside Out 2 ,” “Despicable Me 4” and “A Quiet Place: Day One” helped propel momentum after a fallow period for moviegoing. Most recently, Neon’s indie thriller “ Longlegs ,” starring Nicolas Cage and Maika Monroe and powered by a smart marketing campaign , opened with an impressive $22.6 million, ending talk of a slump for original horror movies.

This is not meant to suggest that the theatrical film business is suddenly in terrific shape. Ticket sales in the U.S. and Canada so far this year are down 16% compared with the same period of time in 2023, according to Comscore. The numbers look even worse when stacked against pre-COVID-19 levels.

But the recent run of winners has brought some relief to theaters after the writers’ and actors’ strikes hobbled the release schedule. Next up: Universal Pictures’ “Twisters,” starring Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones, which is expected to gross about $45 million to $50 million in its domestic opening. The Regal cinema chain, which emerged from bankruptcy last year, recently raised $250 million to upgrade its locations and capitalize on the expected box office rebound.

“We’re just now going through this extended phase of momentum,” said Brandon Jones, co-founder of Cinema Lab, a theater chain with three locations including the recently opened Playhouse theater in New Canaan, Conn. “We’re at the tail end of getting a full pipeline of movies for cinemas.”

Of course, the studios have fielded their fair share of flops too.

Kevin Costner’s western epic “Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1” bombed with $27 million in ticket sales so far from the U.S. and Canada. Sony’s release of Apple’s “Fly Me to the Moon,” a big-budet rom-com set amid an alt-history version of the Apollo 11 mission, debuted with a weak $10 million, despite playing up the star power of Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum.

Both were ambitious, star-driven projects from genres that Hollywood doesn’t often make anymore. Not coincidentally, neither was funded by a traditional studio.

But the movie business should avoid learning the wrong lessons here. When a movie like “Horizon” or “Fly Me to the Moon” flops in theaters, it’s easy for Hollywood to blame the supposedly elusive audience of “older moviegoers.” That would be a mistake.

The problem with “Horizon,” “Fly Me to the Moon” and even the Ryan Gosling-Emily Blunt vehicle “The Fall Guy” wasn’t that their target audience was old (keep in mind, movie studios consider anyone over 35 to be getting up there). It’s that they didn’t give moviegoers a good enough reason to get off the couch. “The Fall Guy,” something of a hybrid action-comedy marketed as a rom-com, was a classic example of what studio marketers call a “ feathered fish ”: a movie that seems like one thing when it’s actually another.

When studios offer grown-ups a movie like “Oppenheimer” ($975 million in global sales), “Sound of Freedom” ($250 million) or even “Dune: Part Two” ($712 million), they show up in force.

It is true that older audiences tend not to rush out to the theaters as much as younger cohorts on opening weekend. So “Fly Me to the Moon” may yet find its audience, whether it’s in theaters through word-of-mouth, or on video on-demand and Apple’s streaming service. It got so-so reviews from critics, but filmgoers who saw it enjoyed it, judging by an A- rating from polling firm Cinemascore.

The problem for Apple is that it paid a reported $100 million for the movie, making profitability a reach; Sony is distributing for a fee and has no financial exposure.

Warner Bros. pulled Chapter 2 of the “Horizon” saga from its planned August release date in the wake of the original’s poor performance.

Here too, Warner’s New Line Cinema is serving as the domestic distributor in exchange for a fee. Costner and his backers put up the actual capital for the project, with the actor himself in for $38 million of his own coin. Many observers expect the second chapter to be released directly to Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max or another streaming service, though Warner Bros. still has it listed for a theatrical debut.

The studios behind “Inside Out 2,” “A Quiet Place: Day One” and “Longlegs” understood the films they had and the audience for them. The question with any movie is always, “Who is this for?”

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Redbox’s parent company was in even worse shape than previously thought.

Last week, Redbox owner Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy case was converted to a Chapter 7 liquidation, leaving 24,000 kiosks dark and some 1,000 employees jobless.

The move comes after the company’s lenders, led by HPS Investment Partners, refused to continue funding the operations through the bankruptcy process, having accused controlling shareholder and former Chief Executive Bill Rouhana of mismanagement that ultimately resulted in employees working without pay. A court-appointed trustee will manage the process.

Rouhana has denied the allegations, calling them “irresponsibly false and scandalous.”

When Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this month, it looked like a fairly straightforward case of a dying business — in this case, cheap DVD rentals at drugstore kiosks — finally expiring in an age of streaming and online video on-demand.

And it definitely was that. Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, a subsidiary of the famous book publishing and dog chow brand, took on a mind-boggling $360 million in debt to acquire the oddly nostalgic Redbox in 2022, with hopes that convenient physical rentals would somehow rebound. Or maybe it was a memestock play?

In either case, the bet went sideways.

A Chapter 11 bankruptcy is never the desired result for a publicly traded business, but it’s within the normal range of bad outcomes for companies that fail to adapt to changing consumer habits. When employees aren’t getting paid for work they’ve already performed, though, that’s often a sign that something else went terribly wrong.

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If you’re looking for some good background music for writing and don’t mind the heavy stuff, French avant-garde metal outfit Alcest has a new album .

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Ryan Faughnder is a senior editor with the Los Angeles Times’ Company Town team, which covers the business of entertainment. He also hosts the entertainment industry newsletter The Wide Shot. A San Diego native, he earned a master’s degree in journalism from USC and a bachelor’s in English from UC Santa Barbara. Before joining The Times in 2013, he wrote for the Los Angeles Business Journal and Bloomberg News.

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Viduthalai - Part 1 review: Soori steals the show in this Vetrimaaran flick

Viduthalai is a multi-layered film, held together by a gripping narrative

Nampikkai .

Trust. It can move mountains.

The name ‘Vetrimaaran’ invokes a similar faith in film buffs and actors alike. The National Award-winning filmmaker, known for critically-acclaimed films like Aadukalam , Visaranai , Vada Chennai and Asuran , has a penchant for pushing the envelope.

So, when he cast actor Soori, who is best known for comic roles in Tamil films, as the lead in Viduthalai – Part 1 , people knew Vetrimaaran had seen something in him that others had missed. In fact, Soori had revealed in an interview that they came close to working together twice in the past, but the projects had to be shelved. He went on to add that it was the director’s nampikkai that helped him realise the actor in him.

And it shows in the film, which is based on B. Jeyamohan’s Thunaivan - he doubles up as the scriptwriter, along with Vetrimaaran. Soori, as police constable Kumaresan, arrives at a remote forest base camp on the Tamil Nadu-Karnataka-Kerala border, known for violent and bloody confrontations between the police and guerrillas (named Makkal Padai, or people’s army). The police are after the outlaws and their leaders - the main target being Perumal or Vaathiyar (Vijay Sethupathi in an extended cameo).

Life in this part of the world is not all black and white, and Kumaresan learns it the hard way. A simple man with unshakeable principles, Kumaresan is drawn into the eye of the storm inevitably.

The name of the film – Viduthalai means liberation – couldn’t have been more apt. Soori is finally freed from the shackles of the comedian stereotype. He ditches his slapstick humour and mannerisms to slip into the character of Kumaresan – both physically and otherwise - and shines like never before. It’s as much a conflict of emotions as it is of ideologies and powers, and Soori essays it all beautifully.

Soori isn’t the only surprise element in Viduthalai – Part 1 . Vetrimaaran has mostly associated with actor Dhanush as the lead and music director G.V. Prakash Kumar in his films so far. (Interestingly, Kumar’s sister Bhavani Sre plays Tamilarasi, Soori’s love interest). But, this time, he not only opted for Soori as the protagonist but also brought on board legendary music director Ilaiyaraaja. The move seems to have paid off.

Viduthalai stands out for other reasons, too. One, for the brilliant cinematography by Velraj, capturing the Sathyamangalam forest in all its rustic beauty. Then, the opening scene itself is a piece of art. The tracking shot, which takes the viewer in and out of a train accident setting, is as gripping and captivating as perhaps the iconic shot in Joe Wright’s 2007 war drama Atonement . Once can see the genius that Vetrimaaran is, at work in moments like these.

Viduthalai is a multi-layered film, held together by a gripping narrative. It’s as much about police brutality, as it is about politics and ideologies (though it may seem one-sided at times). The film meanders a bit early in the second half, before picking up pace towards the end. The pulsating finish sets the stage for the next part of the film, and the post credit scenes promise more revelations and a meatier role for Sethupathi, who shines in the limited screen time he gets in this one.

Will Perumal be able to liberate the land from the clutches of the mining mafia? Which side will Kumaresan finally find himself on? Will politics prevail or will the people’s movement bring the powers that be on their knees? Will Viduthalai – Part 2 deliver a resounding answer to all these questions?

In Vetrimaaran, we trust.

Film: Viduthalai - Part 1

Language: Tamil

Director: Vetrimaaran

Cast: Soori, Vijay Sethupathi, Bhavani Sre, Gautam Vasudev Menon and others

Rating: 4/5

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Vetri Maaran: A vital link between Tamil cinema and literature 

On his birthday, let's take a look at how vetri maaran is sustaining the trend of film adaptations in tamil cinema.

Tamil filmmakers have seldom recognized the untapped potential of Tamil literature. The argument that Tamil cinema is too ‘masala’ for it to borrow from literature doesn’t hold water because Tamil literature doesn’t just have ‘serious’ and ‘deep’ books. It has a humongous repository of pulp fiction. For every intense work like Pa Singaram’s Puyalilae Oru Thoni, there’s one gripping page-turner like Sujatha’s Ratham Orae Niram or Rajkumar’s Kaatrin Niram Karuppu. Thus, it is dumbfounding when stars complain about the paucity of good stories from filmmakers.

However, novel adaptations in Tamil are not entirely nonexistent. It is an age-old phenomenon. Films like Jayakanthan’s Unnaipol Oruvan (which received a National Award in 1965), Rajinikanth ’s Priya (1978), Karaiyellam Shenbagapoo (1981), and Kamal Haasan ’s Vikram (1986) are some of the notable examples. Yet, these are just flashes in the pan. A sustained trend of film adaptations hasn’t happened in contemporary Tamil cinema. But filmmaker Vetri Maaran seems to be giving some hope.

The National Award-winning filmmaker has so far directed five feature films of which two are adaptations of Tamil novels. His upcoming films Viduthalai and Vaadivasal are also based on Tamil literary works, which makes Vetri Maaran, a vital link between Tamil literature and cinema. Not just that, he has also cracked the formula of using serious literature for making commercial films.

Literature and Vetri Maaran

The relationship between literature and Vetri Maaran should have begun way early in his childhood as his mom Megala Chitravel is a noted Tamil novelist. On top of that, the director also studied English literature at Loyola College, Chennai. When he wanted to work with his mentor, prolific filmmaker Balu Mahendra, it was his knowledge of literature that aided him to get the opportunity. In an interview with Tamil magazine Anandha Vikatan, Vetri Maaran shared that Balu Mahendra asked him to come up with a synopsis for a novel as part of his interview process for the assistant director role. Though only his third film, Visaaranai (National Award-winning film and official Indian entry to the 89th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film) turned out to be his first adaptation, one can see that his tryst with written words has been an integral part of his journey.

Making literature mainstream

One of the criticisms against Asuran, Vetri Maaran’s film adaptation of Poomani’s Vekkai (Heat), is that the story was commercialised and unfaithful to the source material. Yet, his mainstream treatment of the novel is what contributed to the film’s commercial success. Vetri Maaran gave a ‘Baasha’ twist to Poomani’s novel, which turned the layered novel into a story of an underdog.

Vekkai is about Sivasamy and his 15-year-old son Chidambaram, who are on the run from the police after the latter kills an upper caste man Vadakooran to avenge the murder of his elder brother. As the dad and son spend around eight days in the forest hiding, the story of oppression and caste politics unfolds. The novel is devoid of heroism and deals with everyday people and their excruciating pain. Vetri Maaran made a significant change in his film by making Sivasamy the ‘hero’ of the film, while in the book, Chidambaram is the ‘protagonist’. Also, Dhanush ’s Sivasamy is an entirely different person from the one we find in Poomani’s book. In addition, the entire backstory of Sivasamy, which depicts him as a rebellious young man, is absent in the novel. This made Dhanush’s Sivasamy a familiar trope of mainstream cinema – a man with a violent past. This vital change made the film accessible to all sections of the audience.

However, critics of Vetri Maaran are also not wrong. A faithful remake of the film aided by Vetri’s brilliant cinematic language would have yielded a far better cinema, but it would have been a gamble when it comes to the business aspect of the film. One should only look at Vetri Maaran’s attempts as a small step in the right direction.

Challenges ahead with Vaadivasal

I am looking forward to seeing what he does with CS Chellapa’s novella Vaadivasal. The story of the novel doesn’t have enough meat for a typical Tamil feature film as it is just a story of events happening in one day at a Jallikattu event. A guy named Picchi arrives at a neighbouring village for the jallikattu event. He wants to tame the frightening bull named Kaari, which killed Picchi’s father years ago. That’s all there is to the story of the novella. Yet, it stands as a brilliant literary piece for its dialect and the depiction of caste politics in the sport of jallikattu. It would make up for a great cinema if Vetri Maaran recreates everything faithfully on screen.

Yet, I wouldn’t be surprised if the director opts for an entire flashback portion for Picchi’s father (Reports, already suggest that Suriya is playing a dual role in the film).  Despite the commercialisation, such adaptations continue to sustain the importance of literature. I mean without the film adaptations, the mainstream would have remained unaware of these literary gems.

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Kalki 2898 AD, starring Prabhas and directed by Nag Ashwin, has been dominating the box office for three weeks, earning Rs 595.75 crore nett in India. It has surpassed Pathaan's worldwide collection of Rs 1055 crore and is now trailing Shah Rukh Khan's Jawan, which made Rs 1160 crore.

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Kevin costner’s ‘horizon 2’ pulled from august release in theaters after first film flops (exclusive).

Costner's Territory Pictures and New Line Cinema made the decision in order to give audiences more time to discover the initial movie before the sequel.

By Pamela McClintock

Pamela McClintock

Senior Film Writer

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Kevin Costner ‘s period Western Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 2 won’t be riding into theaters on Aug. 16 after all.

The film is being pulled from the release calendar for now after Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1 bit the dust in its theatrical debut late last month. A new date has yet to be announced for the sequel, but a theatrical release is still the intention.

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As part of that attempt, Chapter 1 will debut in the home on Premium VOD July 16 in addition to still being available to watch in theaters (the film could do notable business on PVOD).

“Territory Pictures and New Line Cinema have decided not to release Horizon: Chapter 2 on August 16 in order to give audiences a greater opportunity to discover the first installment of Horizon over the coming weeks, including on PVOD and Max. We thank our exhibition partners for their continued support as moviegoers across the U.S. discover the film in its theatrical run,” a New Line spokesperson said.

Added Territory Pictures in a separate statement, “The audience response to Horizon , and enthusiasm for seeing our story continue in Horizon 2 , has been incredibly gratifying. Kevin made this film for people who love movies and who wanted to go on a journey. The support that we have received from film fans, and the theater owners, as they experience the first chapter of this saga only serves to reinforce our belief in them and the films that we have made, and we thank them for coming on board for the ride. We welcome the opportunity for that window to be expanded as we know it will only serve to enhance the experience of seeing Horizon 2 .”

A debut date for Max has not yet been announced.

The Horizon series marks a major gamble for Costner, who put $38 million of his own money into Chapter 1 and funded the rest with the help of two mystery investors and by selling off foreign rights. New Line and Warners agreed to distribute and market the first two movies for a fee, with Costner ponying up for the marketing. Costner intends on making four films in total.

Horizon: Chapter 1 , sporting a running time of three hours and one minute, opened to just $11 million over the June 28-30 weekend. It was an alarming debut for the $100 million movie, which was hampered by a poor B- CinemaScore and tepid reviews (it has a 43 percent critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes). It tumbled 51 percent in its second weekend to $5.4 million for a 10-day domestic total of $22 million. Worse, it’s earned less than $3 million overseas.

Chapter 2 likewise cost roughly $100 million to make. Costner’s team indicated last week that he intends to resume shooting Chapter 3 in August.

Costner is known for his confidence, but even so, he shocked Hollywood when he announced he would direct for the first time in decades and make four Horizon movies chronicling the great migration West during the Civil War era. In April, Warner Bros. signed on as a distributor and announced the unprecedented plan to release the first two films less than two months apart. Costner was so invested that he left his hit show Yellowstone amid his Horizon commitments.

The marketing campaign crafted by Warner Bros. centered heavily on Costner, who toured the country, as well as premiering the film at the Cannes Film Festival. The studio also leveraged sister companies that are part of Warner Bros. Discovery, including TNT sporting events, such as MLB and NBA games, and TCM, where Costner appeared as a guest programmer. There also were extensive screening programs in numerous cities, as well as visits to military bases.

So far, there’s no word as to when Horizon: Chapter 2 will return to the theatrical calendar. Warner Bros. and New Line did not pick up distribution rights to the third and fourth movies.

Aaron Couch contributed to this report .

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Kevin Costner seems set to continue with 'Horizon' saga despite the 1st film flopping and the 2nd being pulled from theaters

• Kevin Costner's "Horizon" was a flop at the box office, making just $11 million on its opening weekend.
• But Costner is seemingly still moving forward with three planned sequels.
• The second film was pulled from its August release date following the first film's struggles. 

The second installment of Kevin Costner's " Horizon " film series will no longer be coming to theaters next month following the first film's disappointing box office performance — but that doesn't appear to be fazing the star.

"Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 2" had been set to land in theaters in August, but it was pulled from the release schedule in the hope of building a bigger audience for the first film, according to The Hollywood Reporter .

"Territory Pictures and New Line Cinema have decided not to release Horizon: Chapter 2 on August 16 in order to give audiences a greater opportunity to discover the first installment of Horizon over the coming weeks, including on PVOD and Max," a New Line Cinema spokesperson said, per THR.

Despite the setback, Costner seems set on proceeding with the remaining two films of the "Horizon" tetralogy.

Production on the third film began earlier this year and is set to continue in August, while the star also has a script ready for the fourth film, Variety reported.

Speaking to the outlet in 2022, the Oscar-winning director indicated that he hoped to see each installment debut around "every three months."

But with the latest news about "Chapter 2," it's clear that Costner will have to overhaul his ambitious release strategy to see the franchise through to a fourth film.

Representatives for Costner, Territory Pictures, and Warner Bros., New Line Cinema's parent company, did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.

To bring "Horizon" to audiences, the former "Yellowstone" star mortgaged his property in Santa Barbara and invested $38 million of his own money .

The first film had a $100 million budget, and Costner and his financial backers also paid for the film's marketing, which, according to unnamed sources who spoke to Variety , cost around $30 million.

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The film was released in June and made just $11 million on its opening weekend .

It's not the first time Costner has put his own money into a film he's worked on.

For his 1990 film "Dances with Wolves," which he directed, produced, and starred in, Costner used $3 million of his own money.

It turned out to be a wise investment, as the film, which had a budget of $22 million, ended up being a huge success, earning multiple awards and taking home $184 million at the US box office and over $400 million worldwide.

In 2014, he also provided the entire $9 million budget for "Black or White," a drama also starring Octavia Spencer and Bill Burr. It brought back more than double his investment at the box office, taking home over $21.5 million.

However, the star hasn't always backed winners. He reportedly contributed an undisclosed sum to the 1997 action film "The Postman," which was a notable failure at the box office, returning only less than $18 million on a budget of around $80 million.

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Top 10 best movies of Vetrimaaran

• April 26, 2023 / 02:30 PM IST

Vetrimaaran is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer, who primarily works in Tamil cinema. As of 2021, he has won five National Film Awards, eight Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards and two Filmfare South Awards. Now, we bring you the list of top 10 movies of this critically acclaimed Kollywood director.

1) Polladhavan (2007)

Vetrimaaran’s debut feature film opens up with a gruesome and brutal fighting sequence and then using the device of flashback, the filmmaker takes us into the dynamic world of contemporary Chennai, where an educated young man, Prabhu (Dhanush) fight injustice and in the process is forced to unleash the animal within him.The protagonist of the film is an uneducated youth who due to turn of events confronts his father (Murali) and an argument regarding the responsibilities of parents towards their offspring ensues. As a result of this conflict, Prabhu gets a hefty amount from his father and he uses the money to purchase a Bajaj Pulsar bike. This appears to be a wise investment because owning the vehicle enables him to get a job and earn respect in society. But the situation takes a drastic turn when a gang of anti-socials steals his bike. Thereafter the film presents the viewers with the transformation of resilience into power and its hold over the life of an individual’s struggle to maintain his position in the harsh reality of everyday life.The plot of the film has similarities with Wang Xiaoshuai’s Bejing Bicycle (2001). But the well worked out mise-en-scenes of Polladhavan makes it an entertaining tale of a casual urban carefree person’s conversion into a person of genuine worth and true dignity. Polladhavan was remade in Kannada as Punda, in Telugu as Kurradu starring Varun Sandesh, in Sinhala as Pravegeya, in Bengali as Borbaad (2014) and in Hindi as Guns of Banaras (2020). But none of them could achieve the excellence earned by the original version.

2) Visaranai (2016)

Based on the Tamil novel Lock Up by M. Chandrakumar, Vetrimaaran’s third outing in its first half has such brutal scenes of police torture that one could genuinely feel the bestial act of police torture. The viewers are compelled to cringe as well as empathize with the plight of four helpless souls. The narrative of the film can be divided into two sections-before and after the intermission. Four migrant workers are falsely accused in a burglary case that has taken place at a rich and affluent man’s bungalow. The police beat these four characters in black and blue and want them.

3) Aadukalam’ – Cockfight competition

‘Aadukalam’ is a remarkable Tamil film as it bagged National Award under several categories. Dhanush played the role of a Madurai based cockfighter. The actor has impressed many with his diverse role. Dhanush in the film takes up the challenge put on him by the opponents and wins a series of matches in cockfight competition to win huge prize money. Vetrimaaran has well created the sequence, and GV Prakash Kumar’s music added more power to itself. Not able to withstand the pain they agree to accept the charges. Once they are produced in the court the narrative of the film takes a twist and the viewers are presented with one shocking surprise after the other.

4)Vada Chennai

Anbu turning against Senthil Vetrimaaran and Dhanush joined after a gap of several years for the gangster drama ‘Vada Chennai’. The film carries the story of Dhanush from his childhood to a gangster. Anbu (Dhanush) was on the side of Senthil (Kishore) at the start of the film, but at a point, he turned against him since it was a secret mission to kill the opponent. The film received positive reviews, and it had a good theatrical run all over.

5) Asuran’

Sivasaami regaining his power Dhanush’s character in ‘Asuran’ was an elder one, and he played the father of two youngsters. Sivasaami (Dhanush) teaches his sons to be calm in life and to stay away from problems. It was surprising for the fans to see their energetic star in a calm role, but it was the opposite when his flashback revealed. Sivasaami regains his power to save his son from a group of people and destroys them.

6) Vada Chennai

With Vada Chennai, Vetrimaaran returns to the titular North Chennai where he shot his debut film. This time, however, there is more blood, more history, and more politics, and a richer, denser world full of human foibles and fumbles. The detailing is more vivid — like prisoners snorting lizard tails to get high. The violence is more structural — it telescopes its attention on a neighbourhood over time, not a group of friends like in Visaranai.

Like Aadukalam, Vada Chennai starts with bloodshed, which it returns to in the last half-hour. Unlike Aadukalam, this structure feels perfunctory, because the beginning is almost forgotten in the blitzkrieg of rat-a-tat action centred around Anbu (Dhanush), a sincere carrom player, who gets caught in the crossfire of a gang war that he further curdles and erupts. What sets Vada Chennai apart is not just Anbu as an ambivalent hero who is swept into heroism by circumstances, but a hero who is unsure of who is right and who is wrong. He expresses this moral dilemma to his wife in a moving scene. There is a sense that if this film was narrated from another perspective, it might easily flip the moral labels we have slapped on characters. That a film allows its characters this latitude is a triumph of an expanded, exploded imagination — both moral and literary.

7) Asuran (2019)

Asuran perfects a lot of Vetrimaaran’s pursuits — the mass film without the mass conventions. There is no hero entry scene. There is, instead, the intermission block. There is no hip dangling love. There is, instead, trauma and affection. Humour does not exist, distilled in the form of a separate character, like a court jester. It is baked into the exchanges. There is no beauty, no polish. There is a harsh abruptness with which scenes transition. And yet, Asuran has packed in it the most potent scenes of grief and redemptive violence. It is Vetrimaaran allowing his films to char your heart, not just your senses. The second half gives the origin for Sivasaami’s docile nature, one that he has arrived at after a youth of bloodshed that left him orphaned and without love. This mirroring of the two halves is another beautiful Vetrimaaran-ism — from the slippers, to the heroism, to the tragedy that culminates in an escape. It is easy to dismiss this film as templated, but there is a reason templates have survived the onslaught of genre, taste, and time shifts. That it is predictable does not take away from what an artist can do with and within that predictability. Asuran is Vetrimaaran’s most emotionally staining — not draining, but staining — film; its violence lingering as hurt, not horror.

8) Viduthalai Part 1 (2023)

In one sense, Viduthalai is the culminating artistic collaboration between Vetrimaaran and cinematographer Velraj, who has lensed all of Vetrimaaran’s films except Visaranai. The opening shot of around 10 minutes takes us, in one sweeping, single take, through the debris of a train bombing. The sheer audacity of the scene, the lubricated ease with which the camera slides, both vertically and horizontally, sets the stage for Kumeresan (Soori), a kind-hearted police officer who has been sent to the forested hills as part of a police force that is trying to weed out an extremist group. It invokes awe while depicting horror.

The dense prologue, the unfussy heroism of Vetrimaaran are both here. The politics is just as long winded and stiff — like how Vada Chennai questioned development, here, too, the story hinges on how the state uses development as a cover for profiteering; the police, here, too, are brutal beasts. Love comes as a reprieve — both to the character and the narrative.

But what marks Viduthalai apart is how it makes violence seem so routine, Vetrimaaran isn’t even interested in sharpening it. There is a blunt relentlessness to it. It is not that the director can’t show violence that whips our moral sense of the world. It’s just impossible to fixate and linger on violence the way he did in the previous films. In Visaranai what was happening to a group of friends, in Asuran what was happening to a family, is, in Viduthalai happening to a whole movement of people. Vetrimaaran employs a disenchanted cutting away from these moments before their full impact is even felt, for the impact is not in its festering but in its unrelentingness.

If you notice closely, these rankings are in the order of Vetrimaaran’s filmography, suggesting that, at least artistically, he seems to be streamlining ahead, a swift, sure motion away from where he first began.

A motorbike-obsessed son dupes his father into paying for his chopper in order to impress his lady-love. But the young fellow has lessons to learn, and miles to go.vetrimaaran is story writer of the film.Vetrimaraan only provided story for the film.

10) Naan Rajavaga Pogiren

A young man gets sucked into an adventure as he searches for his lookalike. Vetrimaaran gave story and dialogues for this experimental movie.

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• User reviews

Viduthalai: Part 1

A police officer is recruited to capture the leader of a separatist group. A police officer is recruited to capture the leader of a separatist group. A police officer is recruited to capture the leader of a separatist group.

• Vetrimaaran
• Vijay Sethupathi
• Bhavani Sre
• 73 User reviews
• 11 Critic reviews
• 1 win & 4 nominations

• Constable Kumaresan

• Perumal 'Vaathiyaar'

• Tamilarasi alias Paapa
• Head Constable Chandran
• V. Ragavendar

• Ila. Ilavarasu
• Tamilarasi's Paternal Grandmother

• Sunil Menon

• A. Subramaniyan
• (as Rajeev Menon)
• Photojournalist

• Sub-Inspector 'Chow Chow' Ramasamy

• Sub-Inspector Velmurugan
• Collector of Arumapuri District
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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Did you know

• Trivia It's inspired from a poem of Lyrist Na.Muthukumar.
• Goofs The film is set in the late 1980s. However, when Kumaresan is introduced by Head Constable Chandran to a tea-selling undercover militant, the SBI bank's new board design---introduced after 2017, is shown. Also, near the bank, an Activa (introduced in India in the 2000s) is parked.
• Connections Features Maithili Ennai Kathali (1986)

User reviews 73

• Apr 3, 2023
• How long is Viduthalai: Part 1? Powered by Alexa
• March 31, 2023 (United States)
• Official Zee 5
• Viduthalai Part 1
• Grass Root Film Company
• RS Infotainment
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

Technical specs

• Runtime 2 hours 30 minutes
• Dolby Atmos
• Dolby Digital

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Tyler Perrys New Amazon Movie Breaks A Major Rotten Tomatoes Record, 7 Years After $48M Box Office Flop

• Tyler Perry's new movie Divorce in the Black has received a score of 0% on Rotten Tomatoes.
• This is the filmmaker's lowest ever, and the worst since 2017's box office flop Boo 2! A Madea Halloween .
• Critics are lambasting the movie for

Tyler Perry's Divorce in the Black has broken a major Rotten Tomatoes record for the filmmaker. Perry is a prolific playwright, screenwriter, director, and actor who is best known for the Madea movies, in which he stars in drag as the title character, the loving but tough matriarch of a sprawling family. He frequently plays a variety of other characters opposite Madea, though his movies also typically boast vast ensemble casts of notable actors such as Taraji P. Henson, Loretta Devine, Shemar Moore, Cicely Tyson, Keke Palmer, Viola Davis, and more.

Tyler Perry movies have tended to be critically divisive, though quite a few of them have made substantial profits at the box office. For instance, his highest-grossing movie as a director was 2009's Madea Goes to Jail , which grossed $90.5 million worldwide against a budget of just $17.5 million and altogether his movies have earned more than $1 billion. However, of his works as a director that have been rated on the review aggregator service Rotten Tomatoes, he has received 23 Rotten splats out of 25 movies .

Tyler Perry's Madea Movies In Order (By Release Date & Chronologically)

Tyler Perry's Madea movies have blossomed into a bona fide franchise, and the character has become an important fixture in modern popular culture.

Divorce In The Black Debuted At 0% On Rotten Tomatoes, Tyler Perry's Worst Score Yet

Tyler perry's career is dominated by rotten tomatoes splats.

Now, Tyler Perry's Divorce in the Black reviews have seen his new Prime Video drama receive a score of 0% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. This breaks a major record for the writer-director, whose previous worst score on the platform was the 5% given to 2017's Boo 2! A Madea Halloween , which was also a commercial flop, earning $48.3 million against a budget of roughly $25 million, which likely would have necessitated a gross of $50 million or more in order to turn a profit. Below, see a breakdown of Perry's 10 worst-rated movies as a director on Rotten Tomatoes:

Despite the filmmaker's negative Rotten Tomatoes track record, this is the first time he has ever received a 0% score from the platform . Because the movie is a Prime Video streaming release, there is no indication whether viewership of the movie is suffering because of this score. However, the Rotten Tomatoes audience score is also Rotten at 54%. This shows that viewers have placed it much more in the middle of the pack for the filmmaker, giving him only his seventh-worst directorial audience score.

Why Divorce In The Black's Reviews Are So Negative

Critics say the movie's cast can't elevate a tedious approach.

While this Rotten Tomatoes score for Tyler Perry's Divorce in the Black could still fluctuate if more critics' reviews are added, so far they seem to be in agreement. The movie is being widely lambasted for its inconsistent tone, a script that seems like a first draft, and a general sense of ineptitude that is more tedious than entertaining. While several critics have praised the performance of star Meagan Good, they tend to agree that she deserves better.

Tyler Perry's Divorce in the Black

Director Tyler Perry

Release Date July 11, 2024

Cast Taylor Polidore, Shannon Wallace, Joseph Lee Anderson, Richard Lawson, Debbi Morgan, Cory Hardrict, Meagan Good

Runtime 143 Minutes