The 2026 Pongal box office is all set to witness an interesting clash between Thalapathy Vijay’s Jana Nayagan and Sivakarthikeyan’s Parasakthi. Both films deal with politically driven themes, but the trailer of Parasakthi beats Vijay’s final film’s trailer views.
The trailer of Jana Nayagan was released on January 3 and has clocked close to 40 million views on YouTube. Meanwhile, the trailer of Parasakthi, released on January 4, crossed 40 million views, which came as a surprise. But there is also talk that the Parasakthi team used YouTube advertisements across markets, which helped boost the view count.
In terms of audience response, Parasakthi received a largely positive reaction to its trailer. On the other hand, the response to Jana Nayagan has been mixed. Some audiences were slightly disappointed after learning that the film is a confirmed remake.
For Jana Nayagan, the main reason behind the massive buzz is not the content or the director–actor combination, but the fact that it is Vijay’s final film. This is the key factor driving huge advance bookings and expectations of record-breaking openings.
In contrast, Parasakthi is benefiting from its strong combination and effective promotional content. But it is not a high-voltage commercial entertainer, and since it deals with the sensitive topic of anti-Hindi imposition, it remains to be seen how well audiences emotionally connect with the film.