Mumbai: Tamil actor Suriya has had a great year with three releases, all crossing Rs 100 crore worldwide in their opening weekends. His latest film, Scene, made Rs 116.65 crore in its first three days, according to Sacnilk.
Scene, directed by Jithu Madhavan, released on 6 November. The crime comedy is Madhavan’s first Tamil film. He previously directed the Malayalam films Romancham (2023) and Aavesham (2024), starring Fahadh Faasil.
The film follows DSP Inbaraj, a police officer played by Suriya, who has to reopen an old case after a secret from his past comes to light. Nazriya Nazim plays Maya, who helps him with the investigation, while Naslen plays a contract killer.
Scene earned Rs 19.15 crore net in India on Friday, Rs 20.35 crore on Saturday and Rs 23.25 crore on Sunday. It also made Rs 43.75 crore overseas.
In Kerala, the film made Rs 16.30 crore in its first three days.
Suriya’s other film, Karuppu, which released in May, was directed by RJ Balaji and also starred Trisha. The 51-year-old played a lawyer who is the human avatar of the deity Karuppusamy. The film made Rs 310.12 crore worldwide, the highest of his career.
His second 2026 release was Vishwanath & Sons in August. Directed by Venky Atluri, the romantic family drama also starred Mamitha Baiju. It earned Rs 209.46 crore worldwide.
Karuppu made Rs 15.50 crore net in India on its first day, while Vishwanath & Sons earned Rs 15.35 crore. Both opened lower than Scene.
But Karuppu had the biggest opening weekend of the three, making Rs 121.75 crore worldwide. Vishwanath & Sons made Rs 108.22 crore in its first three days.
Suriya’s films in 2024 and 2025 hadn’t earned nearly as much. Kanguva (2024), directed by Siva, was made on a reported budget of Rs 300–350 crore but earned only Rs 106.64 crore worldwide. Retro (2025), directed by Karthik Subbaraj, was made for around Rs 65 crore and collected Rs 97.35 crore worldwide.
According to Ormax Media, Tamil cinema’s share of India’s box office fell from 17 per cent in the first half of 2025 to 12 per cent in the first half of 2026.
Collections have been higher for some of the films released since then. Vijay’s farewell film Jana Nayagan, which released in July, made around Rs 325 crore worldwide. Rajinikanth’s Jailer 2, which released in October, has earned around Rs 827 crore, making it the highest-grossing Tamil film of 2026 so far.
(Edited by Insha Jalil Waziri)