Tamil film audience are accustomed to the fact that Rajinikanth's 1995 movie Muthu which also stars Meena in the lead is an extremely popular film in Japan. So much so that exactly 20 years after it first released in the East-Asian country (1998), a digitialized 4K version of Muthu was re-released in Japanese theatres in 2018.
Muthu enjoyed the highest grossing Indian film ever in Japan for very many years (¥400 million just in 1998 and ¥50 million since) and the release of Prabhas starrer Baahubali (one of the costliest Indian movies ever made) in December, 2017 was expected to change the same.
However, Baahubali: The Conclusion failed to surpass Muthu, letting the latter continue its reign as the highest Indian grosser Japan and now another one of Prabhas' film Saaho has emerged in the top 5 by releasing in Japanese theaters. Top 5 Indian films with highest collection in Japan are:
- Muthu: ¥450 million
- Baahubali 2: ¥275 million
- 3 Idiots: ¥149 million
- English Vinglish: ¥146 million
- Saaho: ¥132 million