Veeram vs Jilla: Preview and SWOT Analysis

Vijay and Ajith have had released their movies on the same day four times -- Villain & Bagavathy (2002), Anjaneya & Thirumalai (2003), Paramasivan & Aadhi (2006), Aazhwar & Pokiri (2007). There had been a clear verdict 3 out of 4 times in the past. This time, the trade is betting on the chances of of both may succeed at the box office. 

Strengths

Jilla :

• Jilla's biggest strength is the combination of 2 big stars from Kerala and TN coming together after a long time, ever since Thalapathy. The potential for 'mass' elements and sentiments involving Vijay and Mohan Lal are expected to be electric on screen. 

• Mohan Lal recently delivered his career best blockbuster hit movie in Malayalam, Drishyam. This has created lots of excitement and expectations among fans in Kerala and overseas. The Malayalam audience is expected to give a big boost to Jilla's opening.

• Vijay's excellent rendition of "Kandaangi" song with Shreya Ghoshal and glimpses of his dance movements with Kajal Aggarwal have already caught the attention of fans and public. 

Veeram:

• After a long time, Ajith's role set against a rural backdrop has created lots of expectations. Ajith's multiple facets in the trailers promise a wholesome family entertainer, typically expected of a pongal release movie.

• Casting of Veeram is a mixed bag. The good news is that Tamannah is back in Tamil after 2 years and Santhanam combination scenes with Ajith are expected to bring the house down. But, we will have to wait and see how the decision to cast lesser known actors as Ajith's band of brothers will work out on screen.

Weakness

Jilla:

• No full length trailer has been released until 3 days prior to movie release. In order to reach all segments of people worldwide, trailers typically need some more time to virally spread on social channels. 

Veeram

• After massive first weekend openings, Ajith's hit movies in the past have shown gradual drop during the 2nd and 3rd weeks after release due to comparatively lesser support from family and neutral audience (relatively speaking). One of the distributors who bought Arrambam pointed to Ajith's policy of not involving in promotional activities as a potential reason.

Opportunity

• All screens in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and other overseas locations will be almost equally shared between Jilla and Veeram. All big movies have cleared the way for Jilla and Veeram either by releasing earlier for Christmas/New Year or pushed out the release dates in February.

Threat

• Given a lot of similarities with the subject of both movies, there could be direct comparisons and verdict is expected to be clear and amplified. For segment of the audience who typically pick one movie to watch for Pongal, they may pick the better of the two resulting in cannibalization of potential revenue from the relatively weaker movie.

Pre-release Buzz Winner

Due to the great combination of 2 prominent stars, the buzz for Jilla on the internet and social sites are notably higher compared to Veeram. Despite not releasing a full-length trailer, Jilla appears to have a slightly better edge in terms of box office opening worldwide at least for the first day shows. However, it is well-known that the word of mouth for respective movies will be the ultimate deciding factor. 

As always, Expect our fair and balanced reviews this Friday.