Who said it is a dull period for films in Tamil Nadu? The B-grade Hollywood film, Piranha (in 3D, no less), about man-eating fish, has taken a big bite at the TN box office.

Among last Friday's releases, Piranha has the best collections, grossing approximately Rs 76 lakhs from 72 screens in the state; much more than any of the Tamil releases! Among the six Tamil releases, Bale Pandiya and Sindhu Samaveli, with more than 100 screens each, were expected to provide stiff competition, but their collections were nowhere near that of the killer fishes.

The distributor of the film says, "Piranha has outshone all other opposition with lesser number of screens; out of the 72 screens, it is being shown in digital 3D in only 7 screens (five of them in Chennai multiplexes). What's making us happy is the fact that even in single screens in B & C centres, the attendance is more for this film than for other new releases."

Kumar, a leading sub-distributor in the south Arcot area, says, "In Tamil Nadu, special effects movies involving animals like Jaws, Anaconda, Jurassic Park and Deep Blue Sea have always had a terrific opening. In fact, it is to cash in on this craze that Piranha, a flop at the global box office, has been released in our state earlier than in other parts of the country."

The highlight of the film is the special effects of the piranha attacking the swimmers, including bikini clad women (which is also creating a repeat business for the film). Chennai multiplexes have taken 100 per cent opening as the screening is in digital 3D.

Mukesh Mehta, a leading Hollywood distributor, says, "For moviegoers, watching a film in digital 3D is turning out to be an experience in itself. Though only seven screens in Tamil Nadu (in Chennai, Coimbatore and Madurai) are equipped with this technology currently, a dozen more theatres (mainly in small towns like Salem, Tiruchi, Tirunelveli, Tirupur and some suburbs of Chennai) will be fitted with latest 3D equipment before the end of the year."

Nearly a dozen Hollywood 3D films like Resident Evil: Afterlife, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Beauty and the Beast are slated to release later this year.Kollywood's answer to 3D is that they can do little to stop the advancement of technology. Actor-director Parthepan says, "Nobody can stop technology; let people enjoy 3D films made by Hollywood, as the cost of producing such films in Tamil is prohibitive, at least for now. But, I still feel people will come to watch Tamil films if we produce films with good content."

He also cites a precedent. "Some 35 years back, with the introduction of colour, black and white films were threatened by colour films. During that period, a K S Gopalakrishnan film — Adukku Malli — released in black and white with Thengai Sreenivasan as its hero, turned out to be a superhit due its family appeal. And now, we are making an Endhiran which costs around Rs 150 crore. I think Tamil films will survive the 3D wave as we still have a worldwide market," he concludes.