The movie starring legendary actor Rajinikanth opened in 498 screens on July 22 and has been selling out on most of its screenings, its co-producer Abdul Malik Dashtigeer said, according to Bernama.

He added that the RM12 million does not include box-office takings for the Bahasa Malaysia-dubbed version which opened on July 29.

However, Malik, who owns the movie’s local distributor Malik Streams, said that the audience numbers for the BM version was very encouraging, showing that the movie was well-received by most cinemagoers, especially the Malay community.

“Many local moviegoers like the BM version as it gives them a different experience and this version also has a different ending,” Bernama quoted him as saying.

Malik told the news agency that the BM version of Kabali was being screened at 48 cinemas nationwide and would also be released in Indonesia, Thailand and China at the end of the month.

On the response to the movie worldwide, Malik said he was informed that ticket sales for the original Kabali had already passed the US$50 million (RM203 million) mark in its first week, making it the fastest Tamil movie ever to gross that amount.

Kabali’s box-office takings in the first seven days worldwide totalled US$58.62 million, he added.

The movie, which was mostly filmed in Malaysia, shows Rajinikanth in the role of a gangster Kabaliswaran, who is a Malaysian, trying to get back into society after serving a 25-year jail term.

Under the direction of Pa Ranjith (from India), the movie also starred local actors such as Rosyam Nor, Norman Hakim, Zack Taipan, as well as Taiwanese actor Winston Chau.