''Leo'' (also marketed as ''Leo: Bloody Sweet'') is a 2023 Indian
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nati ...
-language
action thriller film
Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...
directed by
Lokesh Kanagaraj
Lokesh Kanagaraj (born 14 March 1986) is an Indian film director and screenwriter who works in Tamil films. He started his careers with a short film in the 2016 anthology ''Aviyal (2016 film), Aviyal.'' He later directed his first feature film ' ...
and produced by
Seven Screen Studio
Seven Screen Studio is an Indian film production and distribution company headed by S. S. Lalit Kumar.
History
S. S. Lalit Kumar set up Chennai-based film production house Seven Screen Studio in 2017, before moving on to producer the Sasiku ...
. The film stars
Vijay in the titular role, alongside
Sanjay Dutt
Sanjay Balraj Dutt (born 29 July 1959) is an Indian actor who primarily works in Hindi cinema. In a career spanning over four decades, Dutt has won several accolades and acted in over 100 films, ranging from romance to comedy genres, though u ...
,
Arjun Sarja
Srinivasa "Arjun" Sarja is an Indian actor, producer, and director who works predominantly in the Tamil film industry, in addition to Kannada and Telugu languages as well. Referred to by the media and his fans as " Action King" for his roles in ...
,
Trisha
Trisha is a unisex given name, usually derived from the female Latin given name Patricia.
Notable people and characters with the name include:
People
*Trisha (actress), Indian film actress Trisha Krishnan (born 1983)
* Trisha Baptie (born 1973 ...
,
Gautham Vasudev Menon
Gautham Vasudev Menon (born 25 February 1973) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer and actor who predominantly works in Tamil cinema, Tamil film industry. He has also directed Telugu cinema, Telugu and Hindi cinema, Hindi films th ...
,
Mysskin
Shanmugha Raja, known professionally as Mysskin, is an Tamil film director, screenwriter, actor, singer, and producer.
He made his directorial debut in 2006 with ''Chithiram Pesuthadi''. His subsequent films ''Anjathe'' (2008), ''Nandalala'' ( ...
,
Madonna Sebastian
Madonna Sebastian is an Indian actress and playback singer who primarily works in Tamil and Malayalam films. She made her acting debut with 2015 Malayalam film ''Premam,'' and Tamil with ''Kadhalum Kadandhu Pogum'' (2016), and in Telugu with ''P ...
,
George Maryan
George Maryan (born 23 March 1963) is an Indian actor and comedian, who has appeared in Tamil cinema. He started his career in theatre, before working in Tamil cinema and has often collaborated with film-makers A. L. Vijay, Sundar C and Priyada ...
,
Mansoor Ali Khan,
Priya Anand
Priya Anand (born 17 September 1986) is an Indian actress and model who predominantly appears in Tamil films. She has also appeared in Telugu, Hindi, Kannada and Malayalam films. After pursuing higher studies in the US, she began a career in ...
and
Mathew Thomas
Mathew Thomas (born 16 October 2002) is an Indian actor who appears in Malayalam films. He is known for portraying Franky in his debut movie ''Kumbalangi Nights'', Jaison in ''Thanneer Mathan Dinangal'' and Jomon in ''Jo and Jo''.
Early life
M ...
. It is the third installment in the
Lokesh Cinematic Universe
Lokesh Cinematic Universe (LCU) is an Indian shared universe of action thriller films created by Lokesh Kanagaraj. The first feature of the universe ''Kaithi'' was released in 2019 and the second installment ''Vikram'' was released on 3 June ...
and is inspired by ''
A History of Violence
''A History of Violence'' is a 2005 action thriller film directed by David Cronenberg and written by Josh Olson. It is an adaptation of the 1997 graphic novel of the same title by John Wagner and Vince Locke. The film stars Viggo Mortensen, Ma ...
''. The film follows Parthi, a café owner and animal rescuer in
Theog
Theog is a town and a municipal committee as well as a tehsil in Shimla district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. It's just 26 km from state capital Shimla. First settlements were in 1902.
Demographics/History
India census, Theog h ...
, who is pursued by gangsters Antony and Harold Das who suspect him to be Antony's estranged son, Leo.
The film was officially announced in January 2023 under the tentative title ''Thalapathy 67'', as it is Vijay's 67th film as a lead actor, and the official title was announced a few days later.
Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...
commenced the same month in
Chennai
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
along with a sporadic schedule in
Kashmir
Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...
, which was again followed by another schedule held at the former location, and
wrapped by mid-July. The film has music composed by
Anirudh Ravichander
Anirudh Ravichander (born 16 October 1990), also known Mononymous person, mononymously as Anirudh, is an Indian film scorer music composer music producer singer and instrumentalist who primarily works in Tamil films. He is the son of actor Ra ...
, cinematography handled by
Manoj Paramahamsa
Manoj Paramahamsa is an Indian cinematographer, who has worked in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam film industries.
Career
He was born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. His father UV Babu, has directed more than half-a-dozen films in Telugu and Manoj has sai ...
and editing by
Philomin Raj
Philomin Raj is a film editor who works in Tamil films. He is a frequent collaborator with Lokesh Kanagaraj.
Career
Philomin Raj worked as an editor for the third season of ''Naalaya Iyukunar''. He worked as an editor for Lokesh Kanagaraj's c ...
.
''Leo'' was released worldwide on 19 October 2023 in standard and
IMAX
IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (approximately either 1.43:1 or 1.90:1) and steep stadium seating.
Graeme F ...
formats to mixed reviews from critics, with praise for Vijay's performance, technical aspects and the action sequences while the writing received criticism. It set several box office records for a Tamil film, emerging as the
highest-grossing Tamil film of 2023, the
fifth highest-grossing Indian film of 2023, the
highest-grossing Tamil film overseas,
13th highest-grossing Indian film and the
highest-grossing film in Tamil Nadu.
Plot
Parthiban "Parthi" is an animal rescuer and a café owner in
Theog
Theog is a town and a municipal committee as well as a tehsil in Shimla district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. It's just 26 km from state capital Shimla. First settlements were in 1902.
Demographics/History
India census, Theog h ...
,
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...
living with his wife, Sathya, son Siddharth "Siddhu" and daughter Mathi "Chintu". One day, Parthi's friend, Joshy Andrews, a forest ranger, calls him to help tame a
spotted hyena
The spotted hyena (''Crocuta crocuta''), also known as the laughing hyena, is a hyena species, currently classed as the sole extant member of the genus ''Crocuta'', native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is listed as being of least concern by the IUC ...
threatening the townsfolk. With Siddhu's help, Parthi manages to tranquilise the hyena. He purposely avoids public attention over this incident and adopts the hyena after it calms down.
One night, Parthi and Chintu are at the café when Shanmugham, a robber, and his men arrive to rob it. Parthi tries to appease them by giving them money, but one of the gang members makes a move on his employee Shruthi. Enraged, Parthi beats up all of them. When one of them attempts to kill Chintu, Parthi guns all of them down without hesitation, but later has an emotional breakdown. Initially arrested, Parthi is released for having committed the murders in self-defense, but his photograph appears in newspapers all over India. One such image is seen by notorious gangster Harold Das in
Telangana
Telangana (; , ) is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian subcontinent, Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India b ...
, who informs his elder brother, Antony Das about him. Antony immediately leaves with his men for Theog.
Meanwhile, Shanmugham's relatives attempt to kill Parthi and his family, prompting him to request a high-ranking, armed police officer from
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...
to be sent to his house for protection. Parthi's request is granted as Napoleon, having been promoted recently following his heroics with Dilli in
Tiruchirappalli
Tiruchirappalli () ( formerly Trichinopoly in English), also called Tiruchi or Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with bein ...
, is assigned to protect his family. On meeting Parthi, Antony insists that Parthi is his son, Leo Das, who was presumed to be dead, but Parthi vehemently denies this. Antony threatens him to accept his identity and surrender or face the consequences. Antony meets Sathya and tells her that Leo is a mass murderer, prompting her to dig into Parthi's past. At the same time, Joshy starts digging into Leo's past and learns about his friend, Hridayaraj D'Souza, who was arrested and is to be hanged in three days. On meeting with Hridayaraj, Joshy learns about Leo's past.
In 1999, Antony established a tobacco factory called Das & Co. Harold returned to India from Canada and started manufacturing and smuggling
datura
''Datura'' is a genus of nine species of highly poisonous, vespertine-flowering plants belonging to the nightshade family Solanaceae. They are commonly known as thornapples or jimsonweeds, but are also known as devil's trumpets (not to be conf ...
, a drug significantly more lethal than cocaine, using the factory as a
front
Front may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''The Front'' (1943 film), a 1943 Soviet drama film
* ''The Front'', 1976 film
Music
* The Front (band), an American rock band signed to Columbia Records and active in the 1980s and e ...
as their tobacco products did not take off. Antony's twin children, Leo and Elisa Das, did the dirty work for them to run the business smoothly. Being a strong believer in the
occult
The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism a ...
, Antony tried to sacrifice Elisa based on his astrologer's advice, as this would have allowed their tobacco products to take off. Enraged, Leo sets fire to all of Harold's drugs, but Harold manages to kill Elisa and Antony shoots Leo, who was since presumed to be dead.
On hearing this, Joshy is convinced that Parthi is not Leo, while Sathya also gets definitive proof of the same. Meanwhile, Antony kidnaps Siddhu and tells him that he will sacrifice Siddhu as he could not sacrifice Elisa with his own hands. Parthi and Napoleon give chase to Antony and his men, and Parthi eventually catches up with them. He finishes off Antony and his men but does not find Siddhu. Harold learns about Antony's death and calls Parthi to bring Antony's body in return for Siddhu. As Parthi goes to Harold's lair, Harold reveals that he has sent men to kill Sathya and Chintu. However, Napoleon, Joshy, and the hyena finish off all the men. Harold's men attack Parthi at their lair, but he manages to fend them off. As Harold and Parthi engage in a fistfight, Parthi grabs a gun and holds Harold at gunpoint.
At this point, Harold gets convinced that Parthi is not Leo and states that he and his family can walk away freely. However, Parthi starts laughing and finally admits that he is Leo before gunning down Harold, rescuing Siddhu and torching the entire Das & Co. factory. Leo states that he has done nothing good in his past and anyone who insists on knowing his story must either die or already be dead, thus revealing that he had told Antony the truth about his identity before killing him.
In an epilogue, as peace returns to Parthi's life, he gets a phone call. The caller reveals that he knows Parthi is Leo and tells him that destroying only his family's datura factory was not enough to make the society drug-free as drugs are rampant all over India. The caller also says that he knows Parthi recognises his identity, as Parthi sighs in exasperation.
Cast
Production
Development
After the success of ''
Master
Master or masters may refer to:
Ranks or titles
* Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans
*Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...
'' in early 2021, it was reported that
Lokesh Kanagaraj
Lokesh Kanagaraj (born 14 March 1986) is an Indian film director and screenwriter who works in Tamil films. He started his careers with a short film in the 2016 anthology ''Aviyal (2016 film), Aviyal.'' He later directed his first feature film ' ...
visited
Vijay at his residence and narrated a script which impressed him. The project was supposed to be the actor's 66th film as a leading actor; however, that position instead went to ''
Varisu
''Varisu'' (; ) is a 2023 Indian Tamil language, Tamil-language action drama film directed by Vamshi Paidipally who co-wrote it with Hari and Ashishor Solomon. Produced jointly by Dil Raju and Sirish under the banner of Sri Venkateswara Creati ...
'' (2023).
Reports of a potential collaboration between Lokesh and Vijay continued through February 2022.
The following March, Lokesh confirmed there were discussions for him to direct Vijay's 67th film. That May, he confirmed the project,
tentatively titled ''Thalapathy 67''.
The project was funded by S. S. Lalit Kumar's
Seven Screen Studio
Seven Screen Studio is an Indian film production and distribution company headed by S. S. Lalit Kumar.
History
S. S. Lalit Kumar set up Chennai-based film production house Seven Screen Studio in 2017, before moving on to producer the Sasiku ...
, which had distributed and co-produced ''Master''. Vijay's manager, Jagadish Palanisamy, served as a co-producer. The company made a public announcement on 30 January 2023, confirming the project, and the film's official title ''Leo'' was revealed on 3 February 2023.
The film was made on a budget of crore, and Vijay was reported to receive as his remuneration.
However, he reportedly decided to take the
revenue sharing
Revenue sharing is the distribution of revenue, the total amount of income generated by the sale of goods and services among the stakeholders or contributors. It should not be confused with profit shares, in which scheme only the profit is share ...
model, to benefit the film's production; as per the basis, he would receive as an advance, and a chunk of the profits would be received as the actor's remuneration. Vijay was not in favour of making ''Leo'' a
pan-Indian film
Pan-Indian film is a term related to Indian cinema that originated with Telugu cinema as a mainstream commercial film appealing to audiences across the country with a spread to world markets. The movement gained popularity since 2015, post th ...
, as he wanted to focus on satisfying the Tamil audience. The actor, however, changed his mind after Lalit and Jagadish convinced him. Some changes were also made to the original story to help the film cater to a wider audience. In August 2023, the film was reported to be a part of the
Lokesh Cinematic Universe
Lokesh Cinematic Universe (LCU) is an Indian shared universe of action thriller films created by Lokesh Kanagaraj. The first feature of the universe ''Kaithi'' was released in 2019 and the second installment ''Vikram'' was released on 3 June ...
(LCU), as the makers had signed a
no objection certificate
No Objection Certificate, popularly abbreviated as NOC, is a type of legal certificate issued by any agency, organisation, institute or, in certain cases, an individual. It does not object to the covenants of the certificate. The certification is ...
with
Dream Warrior Pictures
Dream Warrior Pictures is an Indian film production company based in Chennai. It was founded in 2010 by brothers S R Prakashbabu and S R Prabhu, who were partners in Studio Green during 2010–2013. They are also relatives of the veteran acto ...
and
Raaj Kamal Films International
Raaj Kamal Films International is an Indian film production and distribution company founded and headed by Kamal Haasan. ''Raja Paarvai'' (1981) was the first film to be produced by them under the banner "Haasan Brothers" before renaming it t ...
, the producers of the LCU's previous installments ''
Kaithi
Kaithi (), also called Kayathi () or Kayasthi (), is a historical Brahmic script that was used widely in parts of Northern and Eastern India, primarily in the present-day states of Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Bihar. In particular, it was us ...
'' (2019) and
''Vikram'' (2022) respectively. The film's status in the LCU was not confirmed until after its release.
Pre-production
It took Lokesh nearly six months for the writing and pre-production.
Lokesh co-wrote the film's script along with
Rathna Kumar
Rathna Kumar is an Indian film director and writer. He is known for directing ''Meyaadha Maan'' (2017).
Career
Kumar began his career with the low-budget film ''Madhu'', which was included in an anthology film called ''Bench Talkies''. He lat ...
, in his third consecutive collaboration with the director, and Deeraj Vaidy, director of ''
Jil Jung Juk
''Jil Jung Juk'' () is a 2016 Indian Tamil-language black comedy film directed by debutant Deeraj Vaidy, who also co-wrote the script with Mohan Ramakrishnan. Siddharth produced the film under Etaki Entertainment banner, and also starred alongsi ...
'' (2016). Both of them joined the writing team in mid August 2022. Lokesh said the film would be completely made in his style, unlike ''Master'' which he considered a 50% Vijay film and 50% his film.
A
muhurat
Muhūrta ( sa, मुहूर्त, translit=muhūrtaṃ) is a Hindu unit of measurement for time along with nimiṣa, kāṣṭhā, and kalā in the Hindu calendar.
In the Brāhmaṇas, ''muhūrta'' denotes a division of time: 1/30 of a day, ...
puja was held on 5 December 2022 at
AVM Studios
AVM Productions is an Indian film production studio founded by A. V. Meiyappan. It is the final oldest survived studio in India. The filming studios are located in Vadapalani, Chennai. It has produced over 300 films in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, ...
in
Chennai
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
with the film's cast and crew. On 7 December, the team shot the promotional video for the film for nearly three days.
In mid-January 2023,
Manoj Paramahamsa
Manoj Paramahamsa is an Indian cinematographer, who has worked in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam film industries.
Career
He was born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. His father UV Babu, has directed more than half-a-dozen films in Telugu and Manoj has sai ...
was announced as cinematographer, marking his first collaboration with Lokesh and third with Vijay after ''
Nanban Nanban may refer to: Japan
* Nanban art
refers to Japanese art of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries influenced by contact with the or 'Southern barbarians', traders and missionaries from Europe and specifically from Portugal. It is a ...
'' (2012) and ''
Beast'' (2022).
Anirudh Ravichander
Anirudh Ravichander (born 16 October 1990), also known Mononymous person, mononymously as Anirudh, is an Indian film scorer music composer music producer singer and instrumentalist who primarily works in Tamil films. He is the son of actor Ra ...
would score the music, in his third consecutive film with the director. Lokesh further retained most of his norm technicians including editor
Philomin Raj
Philomin Raj is a film editor who works in Tamil films. He is a frequent collaborator with Lokesh Kanagaraj.
Career
Philomin Raj worked as an editor for the third season of ''Naalaya Iyukunar''. He worked as an editor for Lokesh Kanagaraj's c ...
, stunt choreography duo
Anbariv
Anbariv, also known as Anbumani and Arivumani or Anbu and Arivu is an Indian duo of action choreographers and stunt coordinators who work in primarily in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi cinema. The duo is well known for their acti ...
, dance choreographer
Dinesh Kumar and art director N. Sathees Kumar.
Praveen Raja would style the costumes for Vijay, along with his regular costume designers Pallavi Singh and
Eka Lakhani
Eka Lakhani (born 1987) is an Indian fashion costume designer, who has worked in the Hindi, Tamil and Telugu film industries. After beginning her career as an intern on the sets of '' Raavan'' (2010), she has become director Mani Ratnam's costume ...
. Ramkumar Balasubramanian was appointed as
executive producer
Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...
of the film by the production house.
Casting
Vijay would sport a grey-shaded hairstyle for his character, which was finalised after 30 different looks.
Trisha
Trisha is a unisex given name, usually derived from the female Latin given name Patricia.
Notable people and characters with the name include:
People
*Trisha (actress), Indian film actress Trisha Krishnan (born 1983)
* Trisha Baptie (born 1973 ...
was cast as the female lead, pairing opposite Vijay for the fifth time after ''
Ghilli
''Ghilli'' () is a 2004 Indian Tamil-language romantic action masala film directed by Dharani and produced by A. M. Rathnam. It is a remake of the Telugu-language film ''Okkadu'' (2003). The film stars Vijay, Trisha and Prakash Raj with Ashis ...
'' (2004), ''
Thirupaachi
''Thirupaachi'' is a 2005 Indian Tamil-language action film written and directed by Perarasu. The film stars Vijay, Trisha and Mallika, with Livingston, Pasupathy, Benjamin, Kota Srinivasa Rao, Vaiyapuri and Manoj K. Jayan in other roles. Ch ...
'' (2005), ''
Aathi
''Aathi'' () or known as ''Aadhi'' is a 2006 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film, directed by Ramana and produced by S. A. Chandrasekhar. Starring Vijay in the lead role, it is a remake of the 2005 Telugu film ''Athanokkade''.
The fil ...
'' (2006) and ''
Kuruvi
''Kuruvi'' () is a 2008 Indian Tamil-language superhero comedy film written and directed by Dharani. Produced by Udhayanidhi Stalin, the film stars Vijay in the titular role with Trisha and Suman in other prominent roles. Vivek, Ashish Vidya ...
'' (2008).
Sanjay Dutt
Sanjay Balraj Dutt (born 29 July 1959) is an Indian actor who primarily works in Hindi cinema. In a career spanning over four decades, Dutt has won several accolades and acted in over 100 films, ranging from romance to comedy genres, though u ...
was confirmed to play one of the main antagonists, in his Tamil film debut as well as his second South Indian film after ''
KGF: Chapter 2'' (2022). Dutt agreed to be a part of the project, after being impressed by the one-line narrated for the film.
Priya Anand
Priya Anand (born 17 September 1986) is an Indian actress and model who predominantly appears in Tamil films. She has also appeared in Telugu, Hindi, Kannada and Malayalam films. After pursuing higher studies in the US, she began a career in ...
also joined the film in an important role, whilst
Arjun was also cast in an important role. He called it a "different" and "fresh" one that would justify his title "Action King".
Madonna Sebastian
Madonna Sebastian is an Indian actress and playback singer who primarily works in Tamil and Malayalam films. She made her acting debut with 2015 Malayalam film ''Premam,'' and Tamil with ''Kadhalum Kadandhu Pogum'' (2016), and in Telugu with ''P ...
,
Mysskin
Shanmugha Raja, known professionally as Mysskin, is an Tamil film director, screenwriter, actor, singer, and producer.
He made his directorial debut in 2006 with ''Chithiram Pesuthadi''. His subsequent films ''Anjathe'' (2008), ''Nandalala'' ( ...
, Sandy Master,
Gautham Vasudev Menon
Gautham Vasudev Menon (born 25 February 1973) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer and actor who predominantly works in Tamil cinema, Tamil film industry. He has also directed Telugu cinema, Telugu and Hindi cinema, Hindi films th ...
, and
Mansoor Ali Khan would play prominent roles.
Mathew Thomas
Mathew Thomas (born 16 October 2002) is an Indian actor who appears in Malayalam films. He is known for portraying Franky in his debut movie ''Kumbalangi Nights'', Jaison in ''Thanneer Mathan Dinangal'' and Jomon in ''Jo and Jo''.
Early life
M ...
, would also make his Tamil debut with the film. All of their inclusion were confirmed by the production house in late-January 2023.
Manobala
Manobala (born 8 December 1953) is an Indian film director, producer, actor and comedian who predominantly plays supporting roles in Tamil-language films.
He started his career in Tamil cinema in the early 1970s and with Kamal Haasan's referen ...
and
Janany Kunaseelan were present at the film's preliminary shooting, confirming their presence in the film;
the latter would make her acting debut in a feature with this film.
George Maryan
George Maryan (born 23 March 1963) is an Indian actor and comedian, who has appeared in Tamil cinema. He started his career in theatre, before working in Tamil cinema and has often collaborated with film-makers A. L. Vijay, Sundar C and Priyada ...
was also featured in the muhurat puja, thereby confirming his inclusion.
Abhirami Venkatachalam
Abhirami Venkatachalam () (9 March 1991) is an Indian actress who works prominently in Tamil film industry. She appeared in the first season of the spin-off version of ''Bigg Boss Tamil'' called '' Bigg Boss Ultimate (season 1)'' and emerged as th ...
and
Babu Antony
Babu Antony (born 22 February 1966) is an Indian-American actor and martial artist, who works primarily in Malayalam cinema. He has also acted in several Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Sinhalese, Hindi and English films. He started his career doing ...
were also confirmed after participating in the film's
Kashmir
Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...
schedule. Manobala died on 3 May 2023 without having shot any scenes. George Maryan reprises his role from ''Kaithi'', while
Maya S. Krishnan
Maya S Krishnan is an Indian actress, model and singer who works in the Tamil film industry. She made her acting debut in the college musical film '' Vaanavil Vaazhkai'' (2015).
Early life
Maya was born in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India and did h ...
and
Kamal Haasan
Kamal Haasan (born 7 November 1954) is an Indian actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, playback singer, television presenter and politician who works mainly in Tamil cinema and has also appeared in some Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, Kannada and Bengali l ...
briefly reprise their roles from ''Vikram'', the latter has a voice only role.
Filming
Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...
began with the first schedule on 2 January 2023 at EVP Film City in Chennai. Minor portions of the film were held at
Kodaikanal
Kodaikanal () is a hill station which is located in Dindigul district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Its name in the Tamil language means "The Gift of the Forest". Kodaikanal is referred to as the "Princess of Hill stations" and has a long ...
in the last week of January and Mysskin shot for some of his portions there as he could not allocate dates to travel to
Kashmir
Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...
, where the subsequent schedule would take place. The second schedule commenced in Kashmir on 1 February. During this schedule, footage of Vijay was leaked and went viral, prompting the film's official technology security partner to warn people against sharing leaked content or they would be deleted. Furthermore, most of the cast and crew members were prohibited from using mobile phones on the sets, to prevent leakage of stills and videos from the shoot. On 27 February 2023, Mysskin tweeted that he had completed filming his portions for the film, which included an intense stunt sequence. In early March, Menon announced that he had completed filming for the film.
Manoj Paramahamsa brought an
IMAX
IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (approximately either 1.43:1 or 1.90:1) and steep stadium seating.
Graeme F ...
-certified RED
V-Raptor 8K camera to shoot significant portions, a first for a Tamil film. On 11 March, Dutt started filming for his portions in the Kashmir schedule,
and completed them within six days. Filming was halted on 21 March due to a minor earthquake in the location, but resumed soon after. An action sequence made on a cost of and involving a
hyena
Hyenas, or hyaenas (from Ancient Greek , ), are feliform carnivoran mammals of the family Hyaenidae . With only four extant species (each in its own genus), it is the fifth-smallest family in the Carnivora and one of the smallest in the clas ...
was shot in this schedule. Vijay shot a fight scene with only a simple, thin shirt and had to roll on ice, despite the temperature being -20 °C. A sequence involving him shirtless was also filmed. The Kashmir schedule ended on 23 March.
The studio shared a
behind-the-scenes
In film, cinema, behind-the-scenes (BTS), also known as the making-of, the set, or on the set, is a type of documentary film that features the Filmmaking#Production, production of a film or television program. This is often referred to as the E ...
video of the Kashmir schedule that day as a tribute to the crew of ''Leo'', who worked behind-the-scenes in -5 to -6 °C. The director thanked each and every person from the crew for making the Kashmir schedule happen.
The team shot at
Dal Lake
Dal is a lake in Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir. It is an urban lake, the second largest lake in Jammu and Kashmir, and the most visited place in Srinagar by tourists and locals. It is integral to tourism and recreation in ...
,
Hazratbal Shrine
The Hazratbal Shrine ( ks, ), popularly called Dargah Sharif ("the Holy Shrine"), is a Muslim shrine located in Hazratbal locality of Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir, India. It contains a relic, ''Moi-e-Muqqadas'', which is widely believed to ...
,
Sonamarg
Sonamarg () or Sonmarg (), known as Sonamarag (; ) in Kashmiri, is a hill station located in the Ganderbal District
The Ganderbal district, or more formally District Ganderdal, is a district in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, I ...
,
Pahalgam
Pahalgam (), known as Pahalgom (; in Kashmiri) is a town and a notified area committee, near Anantnag city in the Anantnag district of the Indian-administered union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is a popular tourist destination and hil ...
and
Srinagar
Srinagar (English: , ) is the largest city and the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It lies in the Kashmir Valley on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus, and Dal and Anchar lakes. The city is known for its natu ...
in this schedule.
The third schedule was intended to begin on 29 March at Chennai, but commenced on 5 April. A set was erected for this schedule which led to the postponement. Vijay, along with Dutt, Trisha, Arjun and Priya Anand joined the concurrent schedule, which was reported to go on for 17 days. Some action scenes were shot with a Mocobot camera. Trisha, Dutt and Arjun would begin filming from May. Lokesh also planned to shoot the introductory song sequence featuring at least 2000 background artists. The song was shot in early June in Chennai with 500 background artists. The makers spent for shooting the song for 7 days. Paramahamsa purchased a Komodo-X camera to shoot the action sequences in high resolution, thus becoming the first Indian film to be shot using this camera. In late-June, production moved to
Talakona
Talakona is situated in Tirupati district of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is a resort with waterfalls, dense forests and wildlife. Talakona waterfall is in Sri Venkateswara National Park, Tirupati district of Andhra Pradesh. With a -fall, Talakona i ...
. The final schedule was shot in
Hyderabad
Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...
and the climax portion in
Ramoji Film City
Ramoji Film City is an integrated film studio facility located in Hyderabad, India. Spread over 1,666 acres (674 ha), it is the largest film studio complex in the world and as such has been certified by the Guinness World Records. It was estab ...
. Vijay had completed shooting for his portions by 10 July. Principal photography
wrapped by 14 July 2023, with filming having lasted 125 working days. A month later, the team returned to Kashmir for patchwork filming.
Post-production
![Srinivas Mohan](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/Srinivas_Mohan.jpeg)
In February 2023, ''
The Times of India
''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...
'' reported that the film would be having an "extended post-production time" due to Lokesh not wanting to compromise on the
CGI. Vijay started dubbing for his segments in early July 2023 and completed it on 10 July. Monesh H. and
V. Srinivas Mohan
Vadlamudi Srinivas Mohan is an Indian visual effects designer, coordinator and supervisor known for his works primarily in Tamil cinema, Tamil and Telugu cinema, Telugu films. He is also known for his works in few Bollywood, Hindi, Kannada and Ma ...
are the
visual effects supervisor
In the context of film and television production, a visual effects supervisor is responsible for achieving the creative aims of the director or producers through the use of visual effects.
While it is a creative role, most supervisors possess a st ...
s, along with the
Moving Picture Company
The Moving Picture Company (MPC) is a multinational company providing visual effects, CGI, animation, motion design and other services for the film, TV, brand experience and advertising industries.
Their artists have produced Academy Award W ...
, Al Zhara VFX and SkyHigh VFX, the film's principal visual effects studios. The film's
digital intermediate
Digital intermediate (typically abbreviated DI) is a motion picture finishing process which classically involves digitizing a motion picture and manipulating the color and other image characteristics.
Definition and overview
A digital intermediate ...
and
colour grading
Color grading is a post-production process common to filmmaking and video editing of altering the appearance of an image for presentation in different environments on different devices. Various attributes of an image such as contrast, color, ...
works began in late August 2023.
Chinmayi Sripaada
Chinmayi Sripaada is an Indian playback singer, working mainly for the South Indian film industry. She is also a voice actor, composer, television presenter, radio jockey, and an entrepreneur. She is the founder and CEO of a translation serv ...
dubbed for Trisha for the Tamil, Telugu and Kannada versions of the film. The hyena featured in the film was created through visual effects, and the action sequence featuring the hyena cost .
Music
The soundtrack is composed by Anirudh Ravichander, in his fourth collaboration with Vijay after ''
Kaththi
''Kaththi'' (; ) is a 2014 Indian Tamil language, Tamil-language action film, action Social problem film, social drama film written and directed by A. R. Murugadoss, and produced by Subaskaran Allirajah, Allirajah Subaskaran under the banner Ly ...
'' (2014), ''
Master
Master or masters may refer to:
Ranks or titles
* Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans
*Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...
'' (2021), and ''
Beast'' (2022); and third collaboration with Lokesh after ''Master'' and
''Vikram''.
The music rights were purchased by
Sony Music India
Sony Music Entertainment India Pvt. Ltd. is the record label operated by Sony in Chennai, India. The company began operation in 1997, and it was the first record company in India to be 100% foreign-owned, with Sony being a Japanese corporatio ...
for . The audio launch was to be held on 30 September 2023 at the
Nehru Stadium, but was later cancelled on 27 September 2023 due to incessant requests for passes in addition to safety constraints. The album was released on the same day as the film's release. ''Naa Ready'' emerged as
Spotify
Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...
's most-streamed Tamil track of 2023, as per
Spotify Wrapped 2023.
Marketing
On 16 September 2023, at the
11th South Indian International Movie Awards
The 11th South Indian International Movie Awards is an awards event that took place at the Dubai World Trade Centre in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on 15–16 September 2023. The ceremony (11th SIIMA) recognized and honored the best films and pe ...
, Lokesh announced that updates for the film would be released from the following day. The official merchandise of the film was launched by Veeleos on 17 September 2023.
The film's teaser trailer was released on 3 February 2023, revealing the film's title. The first look poster was released on 22 June 2023, and became the most liked first look for an Indian movie in 24 hours on
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
. The Telugu poster which released on 17 September 2023, became the fastest poster of an Indian film to reach 1 million likes on
Instagram
Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
in 32 minutes. The film's trailer, released on 5 October 2023, became the most watched Tamil movie trailer in 24 hours with 47 million views across four languages. It gained 1 million likes in 21 minutes, 2 million likes in 7 hours, and over 3.7 million likes in 24 hours, becoming the fastest film trailer to achieve the feat.
On 20 September 2023, the packaged drinking water company
Bisleri
Bisleri International (formerly Parle Exports and Parle Bisleri) is an Indian company which is best known for the eponymous brand of bottled water. The company was started in the 1970s by Ramesh Chauhan, and sells bottled water and soft drinks.
...
partnered with the filmmakers to release limited-edition water bottles featuring the film's coin logo. These limited-edition bottles were made available in 500ml, 1-liter, and 2-liter SKUs to consumers across Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
Release
Theatrical
''Leo'' was theatrically released on 19 October 2023 in standard and
IMAX
IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (approximately either 1.43:1 or 1.90:1) and steep stadium seating.
Graeme F ...
formats.
Apart from its original Tamil language, it was also released in the Telugu, Kannada, and Hindi languages.
In the United Kingdom, as with the rest of the world, the film was initially released on 19 October 2023, however in a version which was classified 15 by the
BBFC
The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC, previously the British Board of Film Censors) is a non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of f ...
for strong bloody violence, gore, threat, and sexual threat, following 2 minutes and 40 seconds of cuts.
The Hindi-language version of the film, which was also released at this same point in time, was released uncut with an 18 classification by the BBFC for strong bloody violence, with the original Tamil-language version of the film subsequently getting the same classification and reasoning on 30 October 2023, and being released four days later on 3 November 2023, with the marketing for this version of the film clearly denoting its uncut status.
''Leo'' was the first film of Vijay to be released in the IMAX format in the UK. It was the first Tamil film to release in
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
on the same day as its worldwide release, just like in other major countries. ''Leo'' was the first Tamil film to be released in over 999 locations in North America and premiered on 18 October 2023. It was reported that at least three versions of the film—distinct in differences in scene placement and editing for Leo's reveal to Antony—exist in theatres.
Distribution
Sree Gokulam Movies acquired the distribution rights of the film in
Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
for .
Sithara Entertainments brought the distribution rights for
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
and
Telangana
Telangana (; , ) is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian subcontinent, Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India b ...
, and Swagath Enterprise did so for
Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
. Phars Films acquired the overseas distribution rights and will release the film themselves in the Middle East. Ahimsa Entertainment acquired the distribution rights for the UK and 4 Seasons Creations for the rest of Europe, Prathyangira Cinemas and AA Creations for North America,
Home Screen Entertainment for Singapore, Malik Streams for Malaysia, and Cyber Systems Australia for Australia and New Zealand.
Pre-bookings
Pre-bookings started in the UK on 7 September 2023, six weeks before the film's release. Over 10,000 tickets were sold on the first day of pre-bookings with a collection of . Pre-bookings started in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
and in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
on 27 September 2023, three weeks before the film's release.
After the trailer was released, the premiere bookings for the film in the US crossed over . 32,500 tickets were sold for the film's premiere in the UK for , thus holding the record for the highest Day 1 collection in the UK for a Tamil film. Day 1 bookings in the UK crossed 13 days before the film's release, thus holding the record for the highest Day 1 collection in the UK for an Indian film surpassing
''Pathaan''. Pre-bookings started in
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
on 12 October 2023, a week before the film's release and over 15,000 tickets were sold in less than 24 hours after the pre-bookings have opened. Pre-bookings in the US crossed with over 40,700 tickets sold a week before the film's release.
Pre-release business
According to Indian trade sources, ''Leo'' is set to become the first Tamil film to achieve a pre-release recovery of with the sale of satellite, digital, music, and theatrical rights, out of which, has been earned from the film's non-theatrical rights. The overseas theatrical rights were sold to Phars Films for .
Home media
The digital streaming rights were acquired by
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
and the satellite rights by
Sun TV. The film premiered on Netflix on 24 November 2023 in India and on 28 November 2023 in the rest of the world in its original Tamil language, as well as in the Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam languages, with the Malayalam-language dub premiering on Netflix when the film released there, as opposed to premiering in theatres. A
English-dubbed version of ''Leo''was released on Netflix on 12 December 2023.
Reception
Critical reception
''Leo'' received mixed reviews from critics who praised Vijay's performance, technical aspects, action sequences while the writing received criticism.
Divya Nair of ''
Rediff
Rediff.com (stylized as ''rediff.com'') is an Indian news, information, entertainment and shopping web portal. It was founded in 1996. It is headquartered in Mumbai, with offices in Bangalore, New Delhi and New York City.
, it had more than 300 e ...
'' gave 3.5/5 stars and wrote "Lokesh has cleverly used Vijay's angst and actions to create a picture of dual personality which works perfectly for Leo. The surprise addition in the climax sequence offers some hope and the possibility of a sequel." Janani. K of ''
India Today
''India Today'' is a weekly Indian English-language news magazine published by Living Media India Limited. It is the most widely circulated magazine in India, with a readership of close to 8 million. In 2014, ''India Today'' launched a new onl ...
'' gave 3.5/5 stars and wrote "'Leo' is a massy commercial actioner with brilliant stunt pieces that deserve a theatrical watch." Sridevi S of ''
The Times of India
''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...
'' gave 3/5 stars and wrote "Though the whole 'LCU' part looks forced, one can say that with ''Leo'', Lokesh has a strongest shot in his arm for the next franchise. Lokesh and Vijay's ''Leo'' is a lot 'bloody' than 'sweet'. ''Leo''
's roar may not be at its peak here, but, hey! it is still a Lion!"
Suhasini Srihari of ''
Deccan Herald
''Deccan Herald'' is an Indian English language daily newspaper published from the Indian state of Karnataka. It was founded by K. N. Guruswamy, a liquor businessman from Ballari and was launched on 17 June 1948. It is published by The Printe ...
'' gave 3/5 stars and wrote "Leo sets up as a delight to Thalapathy fans, and Kanagaraj has deliberately played with the conclusion of the movie that leaves the audience in anticipation of a major collaboration in the future." Anandu Suresh of ''
The Indian Express
''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split betw ...
'' gave 3/5 stars and wrote "Leo is undoubtedly a feather in Vijay's cap, it is indeed a step back for writer-director Lokesh Kanagaraj." Himesh Mankad of ''
Pinkvilla
Pinkvilla is an Indian entertainment and lifestyle platform. As of June 2022, Pinkvilla has over 5,00,00,000 visitors on its website and app.
Overview
Pinkvilla covers entertainment and lifestyle stories. Its coverage extends to Bollywood, H ...
'' rated 2.5/5 stars and wrote "The film works primarily due to the fast-paced narrative, Vijay's powerful performance, and the LCU connection while the issue is in its wafer-thin plot, weak antagonist track, and routine writing". Sonil Dedhia of ''
News18
Network18 Media & Investments Limited, (formerly SGA Finance and Management Service and Network18 Fincap Limited) commonly referred to as the Network18 Group and sometimes as the Network18–Eenadu Group, is an Indian media conglomerate owned b ...
'' rated the film 2.5/5 stars and appreciated Vijay's presence and action sequences but criticised the storyline.
Priyanka Sundar of ''
Firstpost
''Firstpost'' is an Indian online news and media website. The site is a part of the Network 18 media conglomerate owned by Reliance Industries, which also runs CNN-News18 and CNBC-TV18.
The ''Network 18'' group was originally owned by Raghav ...
'' gave 2.5/5 stars and wrote "This is an action film first and foremost, so how were the action sequences? They were definitely not seamless. Take the shot where Leo fights off a large group of people inside the factory. The idea is to give a hawk eye's view of the entire thing." Manoj Kumar of ''
OTTPlay
HT Media is an Indian mass media company based in Delhi, India. It has holdings in print, electronic and digital media.
HT Media's flagship newspaper is the ''Hindustan Times'', the second most widely read English newspaper in India after ''The ...
'' gave 2.5/5 stars and wrote "''Leo'' was supposed to tap into Vijay's untapped potential for performance and showcase his acting skills on a scale never seen before. But, it doesn't happen." Bhuvanesh Chandar of ''
The Hindu
''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...
'' termed it as "Lokesh Kanagaraj's weakest film yet". Ranjani Krishnakumar of ''
Hindustan Times
''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media, an entity controlled by the KK Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia.
It was founded by Sunder Singh Lyall ...
'' wrote "Vijay's performance in emotional scenes evokes no reactions even as Lokesh Kanagaraj provides ample electrifying action scenes." Internationally, Simon Abrams of ''
RogerEbert.com
''RogerEbert.com'' is an American film review website that archives reviews written by film critic Roger Ebert for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' and also shares other critics' reviews and essays. The website, underwritten by the ''Chicago Sun-Times' ...
'' stated ''Leo'' is a formulaic but satisfying Indian remake of ''A History of Violence''. Peter Debruge of
''Variety'' wrote "While not as consistently entertaining as last year's ''
Vikram'', "Leo" packs enough corny-but-satisfying spectacle to have fueled, joins ''
Kaithi
Kaithi (), also called Kayathi () or Kayasthi (), is a historical Brahmic script that was used widely in parts of Northern and Eastern India, primarily in the present-day states of Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Bihar. In particular, it was us ...
'' and ''Vikram'' in potentially setting up an ''
Expendables''-style group effort down the road."
Box office
''Leo'' grossed 145 crore worldwide on its opening day, which was the
highest first day gross for a Tamil film, with over 79 crore from India. The film surpassed
''Jawan'' to become the biggest opening for an Indian film in 2023. The film crossed 200 crore in two days, earning 122 crore from India becoming the fastest Tamil film to reach the 200 crore mark. ''Leo'' debuted in third place at the worldwide box office, beating ''
Killers of the Flower Moon
''Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI'' is the third non-fiction book by the American journalist David Grann. The book was released on April 18, 2017 by Doubleday. ''Time'' magazine listed ''Killers of the Flo ...
'' on its opening weekend.
It grossed an estimated 403 crore worldwide from its opening weekend of four days, becoming the fastest Tamil film to reach the 400 crore mark. It also became the first Tamil film to enter the global weekend chart of
Comscore, emerging as the number one film of the global box-office weekend. Vijay became the first Indian actor to have two films top the Global Weekend charts, the other being ''Master'' (2021).
On its fifth day, the film crossed 262 crore from India, bringing its worldwide gross to 419 crore. The film grossed 461 crore globally in seven days, becoming the highest-grossing Tamil film in its opening week. The film's worldwide collection crossed 481 crore in 8 days earning 171 crore from Tamil Nadu.
It became the fastest Tamil film to reach the 500 crore mark in 10 days of its release. On the film's 11th day of release, it crossed the milestone 300 crore mark domestically and reached 530 crore globally. It grossed 543 crore in the 12 days of its release.
''Leo'' collected over 550 crore worldwide and over 317 crore from the Indian box office in 15 days. The film grossed 574 crore worldwide in 19 days, collecting 331 crore from the domestic market. ''Leo'' earned over the 600 crore mark at the box office worldwide in the 25 days of its release. It made 230 crore from Tamil Nadu becoming the
highest-grossing film in Tamil Nadu.
''Leo'' emerged as the
highest-grossing Tamil film of 2023 and the
fifth highest-grossing Indian film of 2023. It became the
highest-grossing Tamil film overseas, the
second highest-grossing Tamil film of all time, the
fifth highest-grossing South Indian film of all time and the
12th highest-grossing Indian film of all time. ''Leo'' is currently the
highest-grossing film in the franchise.
Controversies
Following the release of the song "Naa Ready",
Pattali Makkal Katchi
Paattali Makkal Katchi (; PMK) is a political party in Tamil Nadu, India, founded by S. Ramadoss in 1989 for the Vanniyars, a caste in northern Tamil Nadu. It is currently part of the BJP led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). It contests th ...
president and MP
Anbumani Ramadoss
Anbumani Ramadoss is an Indian politician from Tamil Nadu, India. He rose to prominence as Vanniyar leader after 2010. He is a member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India from Tamil Nadu. Anbumani was the Minister ...
asked Vijay to stop promoting smoking scenes in the film. Chennai-based RTI Selvam filed an online complaint against the film with the Chennai Police Commissioner asking for action against Vijay under the
Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. The complaint stated that through the song, Vijay was glorifying consumption of drugs. On 26 June 2023, Selvam submitted his complaint in person as well. A ban on the film was also demanded. As a result, the song was censored with less smoking scenes and some lyrics were modified under the suggestion of the CBFC. The background dancers, who were a part of the song, claimed that despite repeated requests, the makers are yet to pay them their full remuneration for their work.
After the release of the trailer, the usage of expletives by Vijay was widely criticised. Later, the CBFC sent legal notices to theatres for screening the uncertified trailer. As a result, 43 seconds of the film were cut, with instances of gore and violence either blurred or replaced, although the runtime remained mostly unaffected.
Future
In early August, it was reported that the film would have a second part, making it Vijay's first time doing a sequel. The production is reportedly expected to start in 2025 after Lokesh completes his commitments to ''Thalaivar 171'', ''
Kaithi 2
Kaithi (), also called Kayathi () or Kayasthi (), is a historical Brahmic scripts, Brahmic script that was used widely in parts of North India, Northern and East India, Eastern India, primarily in the present-day states of Uttar Pradesh, Jhar ...
'' and ''
Vikram 2''.
Notes
References
External links
*
*
{{Lokesh Kanagaraj
2020s Tamil-language films
2023 action thriller films
Censored films
Film censorship in India
Film controversies in India
Films about drugs
Films directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj
Films scored by Anirudh Ravichander
Films shot at Ramoji Film City
Films shot in Chennai
Films shot in Hyderabad, India
Films shot in Jammu and Kashmir
Films shot in Kodaikanal
Films set in Himachal Pradesh
Indian IMAX films
Indian action thriller films
Indian gangster films