Viswasam, Ajith's latest offering since Vivegam in August 2017 has finally hit the theatres. Released on January 10, Viswasam witnessed a grand opening on Day 1. Considering that Ajith's fans were waiting for more than a year for a new release, such a spectacular box office performance by Viswasam was expected. However, Viswasam is clashing with Rajinikanth's Petta, which could have taken a bite off the movie's collections.

Nevertheless, Ajith's Viswasam is off to a great start in Tamil Nadu. According to trade reports, Viswasam made Rs 26.7 crore in Tamil Nadu. It has also performed decently in overseas box office. In the US, Viswasam made Rs 59 lakh from 71 screens.

However, Rajinikanth's Petta outperformed Viswasam in the international market.

With the upcoming Pongal/Sankranthi holidays, Viswasam is expected to make some serious money. "Pongal is one of the biggest festivals in the state that brings the family audience to theaters, yielding a good box-office collection, especially in rural areas. In fact, it is an 11-day holiday period (till January 20, Sunday) for most of us," said G Dhananjayan to indianexpress.com.

Directed by Siva, Viswasam stars Ajith Kumar, Nayanthara, Jagapathi Babu, Anikha and Vivek.

Hours after Viswasam was released, piracy site TamilRockers leaked the entire movie in HD online. Ajith fans who were enraged after the leak took to Twitter to urge Tamil Nadu Film Producers' Council President Vishal to take swift action against the site.

(Edited by Anwesha Madhukalya)