"The Greatest of All Time" (also called GOAT) is a 2024 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film directed by Venkat Prabhu and produced by AGS Entertainment. The movie features Vijay playing two different characters, along with actors such as Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan, Jayaram, Ajmal Ameer, Vaibhav, Yogi Babu, Premgi Amaren, Sneha, Laila, Meenakshi Chaudhary, and Abyukta Manikandan. This film is the 25th movie made by AGS Entertainment and Vijay's final film before he begins a political career. The story follows Gandhi, a former leader of an anti-terrorism group, who reunites with his team to fix problems caused by their past actions.

The film was first announced in May 2023 with the temporary name "Thalapathy 68," as it is Vijay's 68th film as the main actor. The official title was revealed in December 2023. Principal filming began in October 2023 and ended in late June 2024. The movie was filmed in cities such as Chennai, Hyderabad, Pondicherry, Thiruvananthapuram, and locations in Thailand, Sri Lanka, Russia, and the United States. The music was composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja, the cinematography was handled by Siddhartha Nuni, and the editing was done by Venkat Raajen.

"The Greatest of All Time" was released worldwide on September 5, 2024, in standard and IMAX formats. Critics had mixed opinions, praising Vijay's acting, action scenes, and ending, but pointing out weak character development and writing. The film earned ₹440–460 crore at the box office, which is higher than its budget of ₹380–400 crore. This is the most expensive film ever made by AGS Entertainment and one of the priciest non-English-language films ever created. It became the highest-grossing Tamil film of 2024, the fourth highest-grossing Indian film of 2024, the eighth highest-grossing Tamil film of all time, the fifth highest-grossing Tamil film overseas, and the third highest-grossing film in Tamil Nadu.

Plot

In 2008, in Kenya, the Special Anti-Terrorism Squad (SATS) was made up of M. S. Gandhi and his teammates Sunil Thiagarajan, Kalyan Sundaram, and Ajay Govindharaj. They intercepted a terrorist named Omar to get uranium from him. Their former leader, Rajiv Menon, who ran away after being accused of treason, was also on the same train. The team retrieved the uranium from Menon and destroyed the train, thinking everyone on it, including Menon, had died. Back in Delhi, the team lived secretly as employees of a tourism company, hiding their real jobs from their families. Gandhi lived with his wife, Anuradha "Anu," who was pregnant, and their five-year-old son, Jeevan.

Gandhi took his family on a trip to reduce Anu's doubts about his loyalty when he was sent on a new mission in Bangkok. After finishing the mission, Gandhi and his family were attacked, causing Anu to go into labor and Jeevan to disappear. Police found a burned body believed to be Jeevan's, making Gandhi very sad. Anu gave birth to a baby girl but stopped talking to Gandhi because of her grief.

By 2024, Gandhi had left SATS and worked as an immigration officer at Chennai International Airport. He and Anu lived separately, and their daughter, Jeevitha, lived with Anu. After Kalyan's suggestion, Gandhi's former boss, Nazeer, asked him to go to Moscow to train officers at the reopened Indian Embassy. Though hesitant, Gandhi agreed. During his time there, the embassy was attacked by a group. Gandhi fought them off and was surprised to see one of the attackers, a young look-alike. He realized it was Jeevan and confirmed this when he helped him fight the attackers. They returned to Chennai, and the family reunited, with Anu beginning to speak to Gandhi again. Nazeer called Gandhi for an urgent meeting at the Chennai Metro station, saying the information was too secret to share over the phone. A masked man attacked Nazeer. Gandhi arrived just in time to fight the attacker, but the masked man killed Nazeer. Later, the masked man was revealed to be Jeevan, and Gandhi vowed to find the killer and take revenge for Nazeer's death.

Gandhi returned to SATS to investigate who was threatening their agency. Nazeer's phone had information about Jeevan and his gang from Moscow. Jeevan's accomplice, Sha, took the phone from Nazeer when Nazeer dropped it. Sha told Jeevan the phone was missing. It was later revealed that Jeevan had been working for Menon all along and had come to Gandhi's family for a reason.

It was also discovered that Menon had survived the train explosion in 2008 but lost his family in the incident. Seeking revenge, he tracked Gandhi to Bangkok, kidnapped Jeevan, and placed him in a juvenile facility, making him afraid. He then "rescued" Jeevan by killing the facility staff, gaining his trust and renaming him Sanjay after his deceased son. Jeevan, manipulated by Menon, believed Gandhi was responsible for his family's deaths. Fueled by hatred, Jeevan dedicated his life to Menon and his revenge on Gandhi.

Diamond Babu, a thief, stole Nazeer's phone, which held key evidence. Gandhi tried to buy it, but Jeevan stopped him. Ajay tried to stop Jeevan but was killed. Abdul and Menon's arrest led Jeevan to kidnap Srinidhi, blackmailing Sunil to secure their release. Kalyan asked Gandhi to free them. Sunil, seeing Jeevan had slashed Srinidhi's throat, asked Kalyan to release them, which he did. When they arrived, Kalyan suffocated Srinidhi to prevent her from being a witness, revealing he had been working with Menon. Sunil, devastated by his daughter's death, swore revenge after learning who killed her. While tracking Sha, Gandhi accidentally found Jeevan and arrested him. During interrogation, Gandhi took Sunil's gun, seemingly killed him, and forced Gandhi to escort him out, allowing Jeevan to escape. However, Sunil was revealed to be alive and killed Kalyan. Menon kidnapped Anu and revealed a bombing plan, unaware it was Gandhi's plan. Gandhi captured Menon and brought him to the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium to negotiate with Jeevan to stop the bombing. Jeevan planned to detonate multiple bombs at the stadium and frame Gandhi for treason. With the help of his brother-in-law Seenu and Jeevitha, Gandhi prevented the bombs from exploding. When Jeevan threatened Jeevitha's life, Gandhi killed him.

Later, it was revealed that "Jeevan" was a clone created by the real Jeevan, still known as Sanjay, who had been making more clones to target Gandhi.

Cast

In addition, late actor Vijayakanth appeared in the film as a nuclear scientist in a tribute using artificial intelligence. He made a brief appearance as M. S. Gandhi in disguise, with the voice provided by K. Manikandan. MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Rohit Sharma, and Ajinkya Rahane appear in old footage from an IPL game between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians.

Production

In late November 2021, Vijay was reported to work again with director Atlee. This would be their fourth film together after Theri (2016), Mersal (2017), and Bigil (2019). The production would begin after Atlee finished his work on his debut Hindi film, Jawan (2023). Meanwhile, Vijay worked on two other films, Varisu and Leo (both 2023). On 24 December, Yuvan Shankar Raja shared a picture of himself and Vijay on X. This image was thought to suggest a future collaboration after their earlier work on Pudhiya Geethai (2003). Reports about Vijay and Atlee working together continued throughout 2022. That December, it was said that filming would start in June 2023, once Atlee completed Jawan. However, the release date of Jawan was delayed to 2 June 2023.

In May 2023, it was confirmed that Atlee would not direct the film. He had signed another Hindi film, which became Baby John (2024). Vijay reportedly reviewed several scripts from directors Venkat Prabhu and Gopichand Malineni. On 21 May, Vijay announced through social media that his 68th film would be directed by Prabhu. The film’s tentative title was Thalapathy 68. AGS Entertainment would produce the film, with Archana Kalpathi and Aishwarya Kalapathi as creative producers. This would be AGS Entertainment’s most expensive and 25th film production. The film’s budget was 400 crore rupees, with Vijay receiving 200 crore rupees (US$24 million) for his role, making him the highest-paid actor in India.

In August 2023, the team traveled to Los Angeles to use visual effects scanning to create the look of one of Vijay’s characters. This technique was previously used in Fan (2016). The film’s official title, The Greatest of All Time, was announced on 31 December 2023. Later, Prabhu mentioned he wanted to name the film Gandhi, which would also be the lead character’s name.

Prabhu met Vijay ten months before the announcement and shared a one-liner idea. After developing the idea in early May 2023, Prabhu met Vijay again and shared the full script. Vijay approved the script and confirmed Prabhu as the director. Prabhu co-wrote the film’s dialogues with Viji, while K. Chandru and Ezhilarasu Gunasekaran contributed to the screenplay. A muhurat puja was held on 2 October 2023 at Prasad Labs in Chennai with the film’s cast and crew.

In October 2023, Siddhartha Nuni was announced as the cinematographer. This was his third Tamil film after Vendhu Thanindhathu Kaadu (2022) and Captain Miller (2024). It was his first film with Vijay and Prabhu. Yuvan Shankar Raja was confirmed to score the music, marking his third consecutive film with Prabhu after working together on ten films. The technical crew included cinematographer Siddhartha Nuni, editor Venkat Raajen, production designer Rajeevan Nanbiyar, stunt choreographer Dhilip Subbarayan, art directors Sekar and Surya Rajeevan, and costume designers Vasuki Bhaskar and Pallavi Singh. S. M. Venkat Manickam was appointed as the executive producer.

Vijay plays two roles: an elderly character and a younger character. Special effects were used to show the younger version. Initially, Prabhu considered Rajinikanth for the older role and Dhanush for the younger role. Meenakshi Chaudhary and Sneha were cast as female leads. Chaudhary acted with the younger Vijay, while Sneha reunited with Vijay after working with him in Vaseegara (2003). Prabhu Deva joined the cast in a significant role, marking his first acting collaboration with Vijay after directing him in two films. Prashanth was cast in another important role.

Other actors included Laila, Vaibhav, Mohan, Jayaram, Ajmal Ameer, Yogi Babu, VTV Ganesh, Premgi Amaren, Aravind Akash, and Ajay Raj. Babu and Ganesh were making their first collaboration with Prabhu, and their inclusion was confirmed during the muhurat puja. R. Madhavan and Arvind Swamy were originally considered for Mohan’s role, and Nayanthara for Sneha’s role. Parvati Nair joined the cast in January 2024. Yugendran was present during early filming, confirming his role. He would act with Vijay after Thirupaachi (2005). Premalatha, the wife of late Vijayakanth, confirmed that her husband’s image, created using artificial intelligence (AI), would appear in the film. Y. G. Mahendran stated he would make a cameo appearance in an interview with Filmibeat. Ayaz Khan portrayed the teenage version of Vijay’s younger character Jeevan, with his face digitally altered to resemble Vijay.

Principal photography began on 3 October 2023 at Prasad Labs in Chennai. A song sequence, choreographed by Raju Sundaram and featuring Vijay, Prashanth, Deva, and Ajmal, was filmed first. The makers used AI for this sequence, which was completed by 9 October. The second schedule started in Thailand on 30 October, with

Music

The soundtrack was created by Yuvan Shankar Raja. This is his second work with actor Vijay, following their earlier collaboration on Pudhiya Geethai (2003), and his tenth project with actor Prabhu. A special event to announce the music was planned but later cancelled for unknown reasons. The album includes four songs: "Whistle Podu," "Chinna Chinna Kangal," "Spark," and "Matta." It was released on September 3, 2024, two days before the film's premiere.

Marketing

The film's first poster was released on 31 December 2023, showing the film's name. A teaser video was released on 22 June, on the same day as Vijay's 50th birthday. Official merchandise for the film was introduced by Filmydice, Meesakar, ColourCrafts, and Namma Tribe on 25 August 2024.

On 29 July 2024, the film's creative producer, Archana Kalpathi, said updates about the film would be shared the following month. Official posters for the third single, released on 1 and 2 August, were criticized by fans and the public for showing Vijay with de-aged looks. A promotional IMAX poster, released on 8 August 2024, confirmed the film would be released in IMAX format. The Singapore Book of Records honored members of the Singapore Thalapathy Vijay Fans Club for creating the largest human figure standee of Vijay in front of Carnival Cinemas, which was 5.1 meters tall. The film's posters were displayed on the Leicester Square Screen in the UK, making it the first South Indian film to do so.

The film's final trailer was released in August 2024. Vijay's de-aged looks in the trailer were well received, seen as an improvement over earlier promotional material. Venkat Prabhu said this change was made in response to past criticism.

Release

The Greatest of All Time was officially released in movie theaters on September 5, 2024, in standard and IMAX formats. The film was originally made in Tamil, but it was also released with dubbed versions in Telugu and Hindi, using the titles The Greatest of All Time and Thalapathy is the G.O.A.T, respectively. In the United Kingdom, the film was released on the same day and received a 15 rating from the British Board of Film Classification due to strong violence, threats, injury details, and disturbing scenes. No changes were made to the film for its UK release.

Initially, the film received a U/A certificate from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) in India after some profanity was removed, resulting in a runtime of 179 minutes. However, a few days later, the CBFC required additional changes, which extended the film’s runtime to 183 minutes. These changes included adding four minutes of new footage while keeping the U/A certificate. This made the film Vijay’s second-longest movie, following Nanban (2012).

The Greatest of All Time was the second film starring Vijay to be shown in IMAX theaters in the UK, after Leo (2023). It also became the first film to be released at the same time in all theaters across Tamil Nadu. In Kerala, more than 702 theaters showed the film, a record for a non-native language film, surpassing Leo.

The film’s distribution rights were managed by different companies in various regions: Romeo Pictures for Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, Sree Gokulam Movies for Kerala, Mythri Movie Makers for Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, and Zee Studios for North India. Ahimsa Entertainment and Hamsini Entertainment handled distribution in the UK and Europe, with Hamsini Entertainment also managing rights in over 40 other countries.

Pre-bookings for the film began in the UK on August 6, 2024, four weeks before its release. Over 1,000 tickets were sold within six days, generating £8,000 (US$10,958.9). In the United States, pre-bookings started on August 15, 2024, three weeks before the film’s release. After the trailer was released, premiere bookings in the US exceeded US$32,000.

According to Indian trade reports, The Greatest of All Time was expected to become the first Tamil film to earn ₹425 crore (US$50 million) from pre-release sales of satellite, digital, music, and theatrical rights, surpassing Leo, which reportedly earned ₹423 crore (US$50 million).

The digital streaming rights for the film were acquired by Netflix. The movie began streaming on Netflix on October 3, 2024, in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, and Hindi. During promotions, director Venkat Prabhu mentioned that a director’s cut with about 20 minutes of deleted scenes might be released on Netflix after the theatrical run. However, after the film’s streaming debut, he expressed uncertainty about the director’s cut due to the need for extensive visual effects and editing work, though he remained hopeful the producers would approve it.

Reception

The Greatest of All Time received mixed reviews from critics. Some praised Vijay's acting and action scenes, while others criticized the weak character development and writing. On the review website Rotten Tomatoes, 40% of 10 critics gave positive reviews, with an average score of 4.3 out of 10.

Kaushik Ramachandran of DT Next gave the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote, "Despite some issues, The Greatest of All Time is worth watching and provides a much-needed hit for Tamil cinema." Sridevi S of The Times of India gave 3 out of 5 stars and wrote, "The film has many fan moments but lacks solid substance, making it an average watch for fans of movies and a celebrated experience for loyal supporters of Vijay." Goutham S of Pinkvilla gave 3 out of 5 stars and wrote, "The film is a full action movie designed for Vijay's fans. If you enjoy seeing him in action or trying something new, this film is for you."

Simon Abrams of RogerEbert.com gave 3.5 out of 4 stars and wrote, "Vijay delivers strong dance numbers, polished action scenes, and dramatic moments similar to his recent movie, Master. The film tries hard to be the best, even if it falls short." Janani K of India Today gave 2.5 out of 5 stars and wrote, "The film is inconsistent but has strong moments in the climax. The cameos and references help make up for its flaws." Avinash Ramachandran of The Indian Express gave 2.5 out of 5 stars and wrote, "The film celebrates Vijay's talents, but it feels distant from the audience despite his efforts."

Anusha Sundar of OTTPlay gave 2.5 out of 5 stars and wrote, "The film is worth watching in theaters if you are a fan of Vijay, but it lacks enough substance to fully satisfy viewers." Kirubhakar Purushothaman of News18 gave 2.5 out of 5 stars and wrote, "The director focuses on creating fun moments with callbacks and cameos, but the film lacks a strong story." Divya Nair of Rediff.com gave 2 out of 5 stars and wrote, "Non-fans should wait for the film to release on Netflix to skip weaker parts."

Arun Antony of Deccan Chronicle gave 2 out of 5 stars and wrote, "The film is boring and fails to deliver a compelling story, especially with its focus on cricket." Manoj Kumar R of Desimartini gave 2 out of 5 stars and wrote, "The film relies too much on Vijay's fame instead of creating a strong story." Suhas Sistu of The Hans India gave 2 out of 5 stars and wrote, "The film has strong star power but lacks a fresh, engaging story."

A critic from Sakshi Post gave 2 out of 5 stars and wrote, "The film's weak action scenes and average villain may make it seem unremarkable to audiences outside Tamil Nadu." Latha Srinivasan of Hindustan Times wrote, "The film is an action-packed, fun experience for Vijay's fans." Gopinath Rajendran of The Hindu wrote, "The film may not satisfy fans of espionage thrillers, but it is a celebration of Vijay's talents."

Upon release, some viewers compared the film to Rajadurai, a 1993 Tamil movie. The director said the similarities were accidental.

The Greatest of All Time earned ₹100.5 crore (US$12 million) worldwide on its opening day, with ₹54 crore (US$6.4 million) from India. It became Vijay's second film to reach ₹100 crore on opening day, after Leo (2023). The film earned ₹200 crore (US$24 million) within four days, making Vijay the first Tamil actor with eight films that each earned over ₹100 crore.

The film ranked second at the global box office on its opening weekend, behind Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. It earned ₹288 crore (US$34 million) worldwide over four days. It reached ₹100 crore (US$12 million) in Tamil Nadu on its opening weekend, becoming the second-fastest film to do so after Leo. It also entered the global weekend chart of Comscore, joining Leo as the ninth-highest-grossing film.

On its first Monday, the film earned ₹13.5 crore (US$1.6 million) in Tamil Nadu, beating Vikram (2022)'s previous record. It earned ₹300 crore (US$35 million) worldwide within five days and became the sixth Tamil film to reach ₹400 crore (US$47 million) in 11 days. It earned ₹191.75 crore (US$23 million) in Tamil Nadu in 12 days, beating Jailer (2023). It reached ₹200 crore (US$24 million) in Tamil Nadu on its third Friday, becoming the third-highest-grossing film in the state.

The film earned around ₹440–460 crore (US$52–54 million) worldwide. It became the tenth-highest-grossing film, the third-highest-grossing Indian film, and the highest-grossing Tamil film in IMAX in India in 2024, earning over ₹3 crore (US$350,000) from IMAX screens alone.

The Greatest of All Time was the highest-grossing Tamil film of 2024 and the fourth-highest-grossing Indian film of 2024. It ranked among the top-grossing Tamil films overseas, one of the top-grossing Tamil films of all time, one of the top-grossing South Indian films of all time, and one of the top-grossing Indian films of all time.

Controversies

After the film's title was announced, Telugu film director Naresh Kuppili reportedly objected to the title. He said he was already working on a project with the same name and asked for a delay in the Tamil film's release until the issue was resolved.

After the movie "Whistle Podu" was released, a social activist filed a police complaint at Mylapore Police Station in Chennai to the Director General of Police Office. The complaint stated that the song's video did not include warnings about drinking or smoking and encouraged drug use and violent behavior among young people. The activist requested action against the actor Vijay and a ban on the song.

When movie tickets were reserved in Tamil Nadu, Rohini Silver Screens, a theater in Koyambedu, received complaints on social media. People reported that the theater charged ₹390 per ticket and required audiences to buy food, even though the government had set rules against such practices. Later, a social activist filed a formal complaint with the Chennai Police Commissionerate. The complaint asked for action against theaters charging more than the government-allowed prices and for stopping theaters from showing movies outside of permitted hours.

Future

In the film's mid-credits scene, it was announced that a sequel, possibly named GOAT vs OG, was being planned. However, the media questioned whether the project would move forward because Vijay began working in politics. In March 2025, Prabhu stated that the next update about the sequel would be shared after 2026, the year Vijay will run for office in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election.