Billa-2 distribution rights were sold for less than expected price 

We had earlier reported that Billa-2 rights may be possibly sold for record price given Mankatha's reception. Contrary to the belief, the news was confirmed that Aascar production has bought the Tamil Nadu theatrical rights at less than expected levels. This has surprised a number of industry people how Aascar was able to grab the rights for just 26 Crores for entire Tamil Nadu. Here are the unofficial numbers quoted by various distribution network sources,

• Tamil Nadu - Rs. 26 Crores (Rs. 24.11 Crores + Rs. 2 crores for marketing) 
• Satellite Rights - Rs.7 Crores
• Overseas - Rs. 5.5 Cores 
• Andhra Pradesh - estimated Rs. 2 Crores (SVR Media) (updated)
• Karnataka - Rs. 2 Crores
• Kerala - not sold yet (estimated at 1 Crore)
• North India - Own release

The production cost is estimated around Rs. 40 Crores to Rs. 45 Crores. The distribution rights barely add up to Rs. 50 Crores giving a slender profit (relative to the size of the investment). In comparative terms, the distribution rights are below or in par with Mankatha levels. The challenge quoted by one of the distributor sources is because Ajith is the only saleable name associated with Billa-2 followed by Yuvan at a distant next. Other than these two members, no other star cast, director or crew members have enough track record in Tamil to pull an opening crowd on their own merit.

The good news is that even if the movie happens to make Rs. 50 Crore or more from TN theatricals, it will be quickly termed a Hit/Super Hit due to lower level of investments.