2019 is going to be a landmark year for Tamil cinema with films starring the who's who of Kollywood slated to hit screens in a single calendar year, paving the way for a historic feat.

With films headlined by A-list and B-list stars including the likes of Rajinikanth, Vijay, Ajith, Sivakarthikeyan, Kamal Haasan, Suriya, Vikram, Vijay Sethupathi, STR, Jiiva, Jayam Ravi, Vishal, Arun Vijay, Vishnu Vishal, GV Prakash, and Arun Vijay to name a few are waiting in the pipeline, 2019 is going to be a rare year in K'town for film buffs who have been waiting to watch all their favorite stars on screen. Additionally, some interesting women-centric projects spearheaded by Nayanthara, Jyotika, Trisha, Hansika, and Amala Paul are also slated for 2019 release.

2010 was the last time when films starring Rajinikanth (Enthiran), Kamal Haasan (Dasavatharam), Ajith (Asal), and Vijay (Sura) released in the same calendar year. 2014 witnessed the release of three top actors' films—Veeram (Ajith), Jilla & Kaththi (Vijay) and Lingaa (Rajinikanth). However, Kamal Haasan never had any release in 2014.

With the gradual yet substantial rise of actors like Sivakarthikeyan, Vijay Sethupathi, and Nayanthara at the box-office over the past few years, 2019 is expected to set the cash registers ringing for Kollywood stakeholders since the year promises a string of medium-sized and big-budget projects.

January will witness the clash of Superstar Rajinikanth and Thala Ajith when their films Petta and Viswasam take head on at the box office during the Pongal festival on 10 January. Since this is the first time that Rajinikanth and Ajith are locking horns with each other at the box office, and the theatrical trailers of both films have received a fair response on online platforms, 2019 is all set to get ahead with an excellent start.

Kamal Haasan will start shooting for Indian 2 with director Shankar, and the project is expected to be one of the shortest movies (in terms of shooting span) for the 2.0 filmmaker in his career. Indian 2 is likely to release towards the fag end of 2019, and Haasan is also pinning his hopes on the film to provide a fillip to his active full-fledged political foray in the state.

While Vijay's tentatively titled Thalapathy 63 directed by Atlee is yet to start the principal shooting schedule, AGS Entertainment has already fixed Diwali 2019 as the release date for the film. The project marks Atlee's third consecutive collaboration with Vijay after Theri and Mersal. Starring Nayanthara as the lead heroine, Thalapathy 63 will be the third successive Diwali release for Vijay after Mersal (2017) and Sarkar (2018).

Sivakarthikeyan's first release in 2019 will be the yet-untitled comedy entertainer directed by Rajesh. He also has director Ravi Kumar's untitled sci-fi project, whose shooting is already halfway through. While Suriya's NGK is expected to hit screens for the Tamil New Year weekend in April, Chiyaan Vikram's Kadaram Kondan will reportedly see the light of day first before his long-pending spy thriller Dhruva Natchathiram, helmed by Gautham Menon.

Simbu's Vandha Rajavaathaan Varuven, directed by Sundar C, is likely to release sometime in early 2019 and Karthi's romance drama Dev is tentatively scheduled for Republic Day weekend release. RJ Balaji's comedy entertainer LKG is gearing up for February release.

Nayanthara-starrer Airaa, directed by Echarikkai-fame Sarjun KM, is aiming for a release in early 2019. The makers of Nayanthara's Kolayuthir Kaalam have confirmed a Januaryrelease although an official release date has been fixed yet. Jyotika's ongoing untitled film with debutant filmmaker S Raj, and produced by Dream Warrior Pictures, is scheduled for release sometime in the second half of 2019. Hansika's 50th film Maha, Amala Paul's Adho Andha Paravai and Aadai, and Trisha's 1818 and Parampadham Vilayattu are also slated for this year.

The continuous inflow of releases in 2019 is also expected to drive the television market, which is struggling with the advent of digital platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video India, SunNxt and Zee5 to name a few. According to a report in IBEF (India Brand Equity Foundation), regional entertainment is growing, and the suppliers are able to expand their forte in the products. "Zee Television, Star TV have their regional channels both for entertainment and news. The South Indian television industry is one of the oldest operational television sectors across the nation and is further growing due to the regional content," the report said.

As per a report published by Ernst and Young a few months back, the number of footfalls in Tamil film industry dropped from 140 million in 2016 to 126 million in 2017. While theater owners were uplifted by an increase in success ratio and footfalls in 2018, 2019 is expected to be another cracker of a year for everyone involved in Tamil film business.