Los Angeles, October 23: The Tamil-language film 'Leo: Bloody Sweet,' directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj and starring Tamil superstar Vijay, made an impressive debut, securing the third position at the global box office during the past weekend, with an estimated $31.2 million in worldwide earnings, as reported by Comscore.
The weekend's top spot was claimed by Martin Scorsese's 'Killers of the Flower Moon,' featuring Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, and Lily Gladstone, which earned $44 million, followed by 'Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour' with $41.5 million, according to 'Variety.'
In terms of total worldwide earnings among the latest releases, 'Leo' outperformed 'Killers of the Flower Moon,' grossing $48.5 million (after four days) compared to the latter's $44 million. 'Leo,' an homage to David Cronenberg's 2005 film 'A History of Violence,' was released on October 19.
According to 'Variety,' this action-thriller narrates the story of a mild-mannered cafe owner (Vijay) who is compelled to confront his violent past. The cast includes Sanjay Dutt, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Madonna Sebastian, Gautham Vasudev Menon, Mysskin, Mansoor Ali Khan, George Maryan, Priya Anand, and Mathew Thomas.
The film is produced by S.S. Lalit Kumar and Jagadish Palanisamy for Seven Screen Studio.
In the United States, 'Leo' was distributed by Prathyangira Cinemas and earned $2.1 million over the weekend. In the UK and Ireland, it was released by Ahimsa Entertainment, generating $1.3 million in its initial three days of screening.
'Leo' is the most recent addition to Kanagaraj's LCU, or Lokesh Cinematic Universe, which commenced with 'Kaithi' (2019), continued with 'Vikram' in 2022, and retrospectively included the 1986 title 'Vikram.' Characters from 'Kaithi' and the 2022 'Vikram' make appearances in 'Leo.' This marks the second collaboration between Vijay, known to his fans as 'Thalapathy' (commander), and Kanagaraj, following their successful partnership on 'Master,' which grossed $36 million. Vijay subsequently led 'Beast' (2022) and 'Varisu' (2023), both of which achieved results similar to 'Master.'"