Rajinikanth’s upcoming action film ‘Coolie’ is creating a buzz in North America, achieving record-breaking premiere advance sales. The film has already grossed over USD 1.7 million, surpassing Lokesh Kanagaraj’s previous film ‘Leo: Bloody Sweet’. With high occupancy rates and sold-out shows, ‘Coolie’ is expected to set a new benchmark for Indian film premieres in North America. Coolie has set the North American box office on fire even before its release, shattering records for premiere advance sales. With four days still to go before its premieres, the film has already grossed an impressive USD 1,447,203 from the USA market alone and selling more than 56,000 tickets. When combined with Canadian advances, Coolie’s total North America premiere collections have touched a staggering USD 1.7 million, marking one of the biggest-ever openings for an Indian film in the region. The figures have already surpassed the USA premiere record of director Lokesh Kanagaraj’s last release Leo: Bloody Sweet, which starred Thalapathy Vijay and grossed USD 1.3 million in premiere day sales in the USA. What makes this achievement remarkable is the pace of Coolie’s advance bookings. With still several days left, occupancies in both the USA and Canada are reported to be reaching unprecedented levels, with several shows already selling out well ahead of schedule. The trend suggests that Coolie could go on to set a new all-time benchmark for Indian film premieres in North America by the time audiences take their seats. Trade analysts are calling the momentum ‘sensational’ and pointing out that the film’s combination of Rajinikanth’s star power, Lokesh Kanagaraj’s past record of action-heavy storytelling have created the perfect storm. In fact, many fans and distributors are predicting that the premiere numbers could cross the $2 million mark by opening day, a feat achieved by only a handful of Tamil films in history. The film has added star power of Nagarjuna, Shoubin Shahir, Upendra, Sathyaraj, Shruti Haasan, and Aamir Khan. Coolie would be clashing with War 2, which is being led by Hrithik Roshan, Jr NTR, and Kiara Advani, directed by Ayan Mukerji. The film is the latest installment of the Spy Universe created by Aditya Chopra, which has films led by Salman Khan’s Tiger series and Shah Rukh Khan’s Pathaan. As far as premiere shows are concerned, War 2 hasn’t made a dent on Coolie.