The Tamil Nadu government has granted special permission for actor Vijay's October 19 release Leo, which officially allows theaters across the state to screen 5 shows of the movie from October 19, 2023 [Thursday] till October 24, 2023 [Tuesday]. The current government rules permit only 4 shows per day between 9 AM - 1: 30 AM, and 5 shows are permitted only government holidays.

7 Screen Studio, producers of Leo had applied for special permission to grant theaters to screen early morning shows i.e. 4 AM, 7 AM shows which have been completely banned and restricted since Sivakarthikeyan's Maaveeran release this year. These early morning shows were previously partly permitted, and partly screened and overlooked. The Tamil Nadu government got stringer in these aspects due to complaints of crowd control, nuisance, non-regulated pricing of tickets and other theater facilities. 

This left the theater screens spacing 4 shows between the 9 AM - 1:30 AM slot, and beginning the first show at 11 AM unless it was a big star movie. The first day first show (FDFS) anticipation among theater audience seemed hit because of this, but theater owners reasoned that utilizing the 9 AM slot with only 3 more shows to spare on a working day/Friday was not beneficial for the footfalls or box-office collections.  

For a big star like Vijay, 9 AM shows were a given yet industry rumours of Leo FDFS beginning only at 11 AM due theater owners' hesitance, has plagued the actor's fans for days. The latest state government order not only confirms that Leo FDFS will begin at 9 AM, but it also puts the fans at ease.