Actor Rajinikanth's Jailer which is scheduled to release in theaters on August 10, 2023 is one of the bigger movies to come out of Tamil filmdom this year. Jailer will kickstart what is essentially a slew of big Tamil film releases for the next 5 months. Here is a quick look at these films, that are spaced between holiday seasons of this month till the end of the year: 

1. Jailer - August 10 (Independence day weekend)

A multi-starrer comedy-action with Rajinikanth in the lead, Jailer written and directed by Nelson Dilipkumar follows the tale of a retired cop named Tiger Muthuvel Pandian. Jailer synopsis (listed on overseas booking sites since tickets have opened for sale there) reveals that Muthuvel Pandian's son ACP Arjun (Vasanth Ravi) goes missing while closing in on a case. What happens next is what forms the rest of the story. Jailer produced by Sun Pictures, is censored U/A comes with a runtime of 168. 47 minutes i.e. 2 hours 48 minutes 47 seconds. [Watch: Jailer Teaser, Jailer Trailer]

2. Iraivan - August 25

A mystery thriller starring Jayam Ravi, Nayanthara Iraivan is directed by I Ahmed of Vaamanan (2009), Endrendrum Punnagai (2013), Manithan (2016 remake of Jolly LLB) fame. The movie has music by Yuvan Shankar Raja, and currently the film is gearing up for trailer release said to be 2 minutes 33 seconds long.  

3. Mark Antony - September 15 (Vinayagar Chathurthi)

Titled after the famous Roman politician, this Vishal starrer is a space-time distortion movie that also stars SJ Suryah in it. The movie written and directed by Adhik Ravichandran is about two gangsters Mark and Antony, who acquire a phone with the ability to time travel. Also starring Ritu Varma, Selvaraghavan, Telugu actor Sunil, Redin Kingsley among others, Mark Antony has GV Prakash for music and is a production venture of actor Vishal's home banner Vishal Film Factory. [Watch: Mark Antony Teaser]

4. Chandramukhi 2 - September 15 (Ganesh Chathurti)

A stand-alone sequel to Rajinikanth's 2005 hit Chandramukhi [official remake of the Kannada film Apthamithra (2004) which inturn is a remake of Malayalam film Manichitrathazhu (1993)], Chandramukhi 2 sees the return of director P. Vasu and comedian Vadivelu. The film produced by Lyca Productions has Raghava Lawrence reprising Vettaiyan Raja character from its prequel, and Kangana Ranaut reprising the titular character. Oscar winner MM Keeravani has composed music for this film. 

 5. Leo - October 19 (Dusshera)

Leo: Bloody Sweet is another multi-starrer action thriller this year, with actor Vijay in the lead. The movie is said to be the third film in director Lokesh Kanagaraj's cinematic universe known as the LCU, and hence will have crossovers with Kamal Haasan's Vikram (2022) and Karthi's Kaithi (2018). LCU movies are heavily themed around gangsters and drugs, and the same is expected of Leo as well. A 7 Screen Studio production venture, Leo has Anirudh for music. [Watch: Bloody Sweet Promo, Naa Ready Song, Glimpse of Antony Das (Sanjay Dutt)]

6. Japan - November (Diwali)

Journalist turned filmmaker Raju Murugan whose film Joker won a National award for Best Tamil feature in 2016, is back after 3 years with Japan. The movie starring Karthi in the lead is a production venture of Dream Warrior Pictures and is said to have done massive business pre-release. The film's plot details or the reasoning behind Karthi's quirky character in the movie, had not been revealed in Japan's teaser.  The film has GV Prakash for music.

7. Ayalaan - November (Diwali)

A science fiction comedy written and directed by R. Ravikumar, Ayalaan starring Sivakarthikeyan in the lead is a long-delayed movie, which has its teaser release in April this year. A multi-starrer with AR Rahman for music, Ayalaan is expected to be visual fest mainly because of the concepts of alien and space in it. The movie is a production venture of 24 AM Studios, Phanton FX Studios and KJR Studios.

8. Jigarthanda Double X - November (Diwali)

Director Karthik Subbaraj whose last theatrical release was the Rajinikanth starrer Petta (2019), will be returning to the big screens with Jigarthanda DoubleX this year. The movie is a prequel to the director's sophmore Jigarthanda (2014), which fetched 2 National awards for its second lead and editor. Jigarthanda Double X stars Raghava Lawrence and SJ Suryah in the lead, and has Santhosh Narayanan for music. [Watch: Jigarthanda Double X Teasers]

9. Captain Miller - December 15

Set in a pre-independence era, Captain Miller written and directed by Arun Matheswaran follows the adventures of Dhanush's titular character - a wanted dacoit also known by the names Eesa and Analeesan. The multi-starrer shares its title with the first suicide bomber of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam aka the LTTE. Captain Miller is produced by Sathya Jyothi Films and has GV Prakash for music. [Watch: Captain Miller Teaser]