Last updated: 6 November 2026, 12:45 AM IST. Figures are advance-booking estimates from trade tracker Sacnilk and will change through the day. We’ll update this page with Friday’s actual collections.
Diwali 2026 was supposed to belong to Ramayana. Nitesh Tiwari’s epic opened on Thursday with ₹64.85 crore net across India, one of the biggest starts in Hindi cinema. But in Tamil Nadu, the picture looks very different. Suriya’s Scene and Nayanthara’s Mookuthi Amman 2 both open in cinemas today, and the advance-booking numbers suggest the state is backing its own stars.
Here’s how the three films stack up in Tamil Nadu going into Friday, 6 November, and what it means for Ramayana’s long Diwali weekend.
Ramayana vs Scene vs Mookuthi Amman 2: Tamil Nadu Advance Booking for Friday
For Friday’s shows, Scene has sold close to five times as much as Ramayana in Tamil Nadu. Mookuthi Amman 2, a much smaller release, is almost level with Ramayana in the state.
| Film (Friday, 6 Nov) | Tamil Nadu advance (gross) | Shows in Tamil Nadu | Occupancy in TN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scene (Day 1) | ₹6.15 crore | 2,537 | 39% |
| Ramayana (Day 2) | ₹1.26 crore | 741 | 30% |
| Mookuthi Amman 2 (Day 1) | ₹1.20 crore | — | — |
Source: Sacnilk advance-booking reports, around midnight on 5–6 November. Gross figures include block seats.
The show count tells the real story. Scene has more than three times as many shows as Ramayana in Tamil Nadu on Friday, and over 100 of them were already housefull before release day began. Ramayana’s Tamil-version opening on Thursday was modest: ₹2.60 crore net from 992 shows, out of its ₹64.85 crore all-India total. Hindi alone brought in ₹47.50 crore.
Why Suriya’s Scene Is Winning Tamil Nadu
Scene is Suriya’s 47th film as a lead, and it arrives with an unusual team. It’s directed by Jithu Madhavan, the Malayalam filmmaker behind Aavesham, with Naslen as the villain and Nazriya Nazim as the female lead. That Malayalam connection is showing up in the numbers too: Kerala is Scene’s second-biggest state with nearly ₹3 crore in Day 1 advance sales.
Across India, Scene had sold about ₹11.90 crore gross for its first day by midnight, from more than 6,300 shows. Tamil accounts for roughly 86% of that. For a Suriya film after a run of mixed releases, it’s a strong start, though still far below Tamil Diwali giants like Jailer 2, whose own Day 1 pre-sales crossed ₹72 crore earlier this season.
Mookuthi Amman 2: Nayanthara’s Quiet Family Play
Sundar C’s Mookuthi Amman 2 brings Nayanthara back as the goddess from the 2020 hit, which premiered straight on streaming during the pandemic. This time it’s a full theatrical release, with Regina Cassandra and Duniya Vijay joining the cast. It’s also Nayanthara’s fifth release of 2026.
Its advance sales are small, about ₹1.36 crore gross for Day 1 across India, but almost all of it (88%) is from Tamil Nadu. That makes it a direct rival to Ramayana for family audiences in the state. Both are devotional, both lean on spectacle, and both want the same holiday crowd. Family films often build through walk-ins rather than pre-sales, so Mookuthi Amman 2’s real test will be Saturday and Diwali Sunday.
Why Tamil Nadu Is Always Hard for Hindi Films
This isn’t new. Big Hindi films have struggled in Tamil Nadu for decades, and the exceptions prove the rule. Shah Rukh Khan’s Jawan grossed around ₹50 crore in the state, but it had a Tamil director (Atlee), Nayanthara, Vijay Sethupathi and Anirudh’s music, plus roughly 450 screens for its Tamil version.
Ramayana has none of that local machinery. Its pull in the South comes from Yash and Sai Pallavi, and from a story every Tamil household already knows through Kamban’s Ramavataram. There’s also a cost gap: Tamil Nadu taxes new Tamil films at 4% but films in other Indian languages at 15%, which affects how exhibitors share screens.
- Ramayana’s advantage: premium formats. It has locked IMAX and other large-format screens for two weeks, which is why Godzilla Minus Zero moved its India release.
- Scene’s advantage: a local star, 2,500+ shows on Friday and a Malayalam audience in Kerala.
- Mookuthi Amman 2’s advantage: a familiar family franchise with a female superstar, built for holiday walk-ins.
Who Will Win Tamil Nadu This Diwali?
On Friday, Scene is the clear leader in Tamil Nadu by every measure: money, shows and occupancy. Ramayana is not losing badly. Its 30% Tamil Nadu occupancy for Day 2 is respectable for a dubbed Hindi film. But it is not dominating the state the way it is dominating the Hindi belt.
The weekend will settle it. Diwali falls on Sunday, 8 November, and festival days usually lift family films the most. If word of mouth for Scene holds, it should finish the weekend as Tamil Nadu’s top film. Ramayana’s long game is premium screens and repeat viewers. Mookuthi Amman 2 needs strong walk-ins to stay in the race.
Haven’t decided which one to watch? Read our Ramayana Part 1 review, see the full Ramayana cast and who plays whom, or catch up on Scene’s cast and story.
