Chennai,  Mithran R. Jawahar's 'Thiruchitrambalam' has emerged as lead actor Dhanush's top-grossing film overseas, according to industry pundits.

Its box-office collection in the first five days after its August 18 release adds up to an impressive Rs 42.26 crore in Tamil Nadu and Rs 1.9 crore in the Telugu-speaking states. Overseas, it has made Rs 9.2 crore, with Malaysia, the Gulf nations and North America leading the pack, according to the trade new website Bollymoviereviewz.net.

The film opened to rave reviews and since then, according to Industry tracker Siddharth Srinivas, "it has been doing brisk business and is well on its way to touching the Rs 65-crore mark" when it completes its first week. Srinivas noted that the movie's overseas performance is one of the best for a Dhanush starrer.

He said the genre of the film has got the audiences interested in it. "The West has been seeing only action thrillers in recent times," he said. "This simple romantic comedy film with just one action sequence was the ideal changeover and that seems to have got the attention of the audience."

The analyst concluded with an observation that is much heard these days: "Good content invariably wins and 'Thiruchitrambalam' is another example of that."