Thalapathy Vijay’s latest film, The Greatest of All Time (GOAT), has encountered a significant setback in the Telugu market. Despite the actor’s considerable popularity and the film’s anticipation, GOAT has struggled to resonate with Telugu audiences.
Several factors contributed to the film’s underwhelming performance. A poorly received trailer, lackluster songs, and minimal promotional efforts created a sense of indifference among Telugu viewers. Consequently, the film garnered overwhelmingly negative reviews, severely impacting its box office prospects.
While GOAT has fared relatively better in Tamil Nadu and overseas, its failure in the Telugu states is a stark departure from Vijay’s previous successes. His earlier films, including Master, Adirindi, Varasudu, and Leo, had garnered considerable success and brought substantial profits to Telugu distributors. Even Beast, though not a massive hit, managed to achieve average business. However, GOAT is shaping up to be one of Vijay’s most disappointing ventures in the Telugu market.
Prior to its release, GOAT had set a pre-release business target of over Rs. 20 crores in the Telugu states. However, the film is unlikely to even reach Rs. 10 crores, and it is projected to collect less than Rs. 5 crores over the first four days. Industry experts anticipate that GOAT will be labeled as a double or even triple disaster, an unprecedented flop in Vijay’s Telugu career.
This marks the first major disaster for Vijay in the Telugu market since 2017. The sharp decline in the film’s performance is surprising, given his generally strong track record in the region. Vijay and his fans likely had high hopes for GOAT, especially as it is one of his final projects before he transitions to his political career. However, the film’s failure to meet expectations, both in terms of box office numbers and audience reception, has left a significant disappointment among his Telugu fanbase.
