There was a close battle between two major Tamil language films, Varisu and Thunivu, at the box office on Wednesday . image credit: Google

Varisu, the family entertainer starring Thalapathy Vijay, won out, but both films did well. image credit: Google

Thunivu earned Rs 26 crore in India on its opening day, just Rs 50 lakh behind Varisu. image credit: Google

Thunivu earned more money in the Tamil Nadu region compared to Varisu . image credit: Google

South Indian films, especially those in the Telugu language, have become popular across the country in recent years. image credit: Google

Tamil cinema has seen a decline in popularity in recent years. image credit: Google

Thunivu's first-day box office results show that South Indian films still have a long way to go before they make an impression in the north. image credit: Google

On its opening day, the movie had an occupancy rate of just 30% in the National Capital Region. image credit: Google

Local fans of the movie appeared to have really enjoyed it with high occupancy rate in the south. image credit: Google

Tamil cinema has a huge fan base in south India and it's a major contributor to the Indian cinema. image credit: Google