Superstar Rajinikanth’s latest film Kaala hit the big screens on the 7th of June and opened to a generally positive response from critics and fans who praised the film’s subversion of tropes and heavy content that focused on politics and caste. However, there have been some reports recently that claim the movie incurred a loss that amounts to approximately Rs 40 crores (US$ 5.8 million).

However, Wunderbar Films (Dhanush’s own production studio) has dismissed these reports, claiming that contrary to what is being reported, Kaala is a highly profitable venture for the production house.

We would like to dispel rumours run in few articles on #Kaala. Contrary to it, #Kaala is a successful and profitable project for Wunderbar Films and we thank Superstar for the opportunity given to us. We also thank the audience for the positive response given to the film. pic.twitter.com/sJTCpx6NJh
— Wunderbar Films (@wunderbarfilms) July 7, 2018

The problem with these reports and Wunderbar’s dismissal of them is that there are no actual numbers presented. Until now, we do not know Kaala‘s exact gross profit both in India as well as globally. However, last week, I compared and contrasted multiple reports, as well as counterchecked the figures with established sites like Box Office Mojo and Indian Movie Stats and am able to draw a conclusion that Kaala is indeed a profitable venture (as most, if not all Rajinikanth films have been for the past two decades). You can click here to check out my box office breakdown of Kaala — as of right now, it is estimated that the film has grossed over Rs 159 crores (US$ 23 million).

That said, it would be great if there were finalised/and counting numbers available either on Indian Movie Stats or Box Office Mojo, to avoid conflicting reports by various news outlets.