Tamil cinema has not had a great run with big-ticket sequels. The first film works, the characters become popular and a Part 2 arrives with huge expectations.
But quite often, the box office story changes completely.
Sardar 2 is the latest example. The Karthi starrer opened below expectations and its second-day numbers dropped sharply. It is already struggling to match the impact created by the first film.
The list before Sardar 2 is also hard to ignore. Billa 2, Vishwaroopam 2, Saamy Square, Sandakozhi 2, Maari 2, Indian 2 and Chandramukhi 2 all failed to deliver the kind of theatrical success their originals had.
There have been winners too. Singam, Kanchana and Aranmanai proved that a sequel can work when the franchise gets the formula right. So it is not a curse that every Tamil sequel has suffered from.
But Jailer 2 is coming with enormous expectations. Jailer was a blockbuster and Rajinikanth's Muthuvel Pandian became a fan favourite.
Nelson now has to do something many big Tamil sequels could not. Break the sequel curse.
Jailer 2 will get the star power and opening. The real question is whether it can become the sequel that finally breaks this recent Tamil cinema curse.