Referred to by fans and media as "Thalapathy" (commander), Vijay is among the most popular figures in South India.
He has been included several times in the Indian edition of the Forbes Celebrity 100 list, based on the earnings of Indian celebrities.
In 2012, he was ranked #28, in 2013, he was ranked #49, in 2014, he held the #41 slot, in 2016, he held the #61 slot, and in 2017, he was ranked #31.
Speaking in 2019, trade analyst LM Kaushik told Firstpost, "When it comes to overseas, it's safe to say Vijay is the second biggest South Indian star next to Rajinikanth [...] $10 million lifetime earnings for a film from foreign territories is a big dream for any South Indian actor.
Vijay has achieved that benchmark twice with Mersal and Sarkar.
When it comes to the UK, Sri Lanka, and France, Vijay has become the biggest superstar with supreme box office numbers."

Vijay's top contemporaries from fellow South Indian industries, such as Mahesh Babu of the Telugu film industry, have not had the consistent success in overseas markets that Vijay does despite their popularity in the Western market, according to Firstpost writer Surendhar MK.
A popular overseas distributor, who wished to remain anonymous, told Firstpost, "Mahesh Babu's best overseas totals range somewhere between $4 to 5 million for his films, compared to Vijay's consistently increasing box office stamina in foreign markets".
In addition, the overseas distributor added, "Ajith's Vedalam, Vivegam, and Viswasam have only grossed close to $5 million lifetime overseas total.
Ajith is considered as Vijay's biggest arch rival, and his overseas box office has not witnessed any surge in the last few years compared to the latter.
Vijay's collaborations with Atlee and AR Murugadoss have significantly transformed his overseas box office might.
The kind of stories he chooses and the contemporary societal issues his films deal with are also some of the reasons for his strong overseas pull."

Vijay also enjoys box office dominance in Kerala.
Sarkar broke the opening day record of Baahubali 2: The Conclusion in Kerala, emerging as the biggest day-one grosser in Kerala.
Box office tracker Irshad, who analyses Kerala and the UAE-GCC territories, said, "Vijay is the only other language actor who is still able to pull the first-day crowd in Kerala on par with the "Big Ms" (Mammootty and Mohanlal).
Ghilli was the turning point of his career in Kerala.
It surpassed the record set by Kamal Haasan's Indian and then Pokkiri broke director S. Shankar and Vikram's Anniyan record.
Vijay's domination in Kerala started from Pokkiri, and it continues even today."

In 2002, Vijay appeared in Coca-Cola India advertisements.
He has appeared in a Sunfeast advertisement in 2005.
In 2008, Vijay was signed up as an ambassador for the Indian Premier League cricket team Chennai Super Kings.
In 2009, Coca-Cola India signed Vijay as their brand ambassador in Tamil Nadu.
He also appeared in a Coca-Cola advertisement again.
In August 2010, Vijay was signed by Jos Alukkas as their brand ambassador for Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
He also appeared in a Tata Docomo advertisement.
In 2017, a third standard Central Board of Secondary Education textbook has displayed Vijay's image with veshti and shirt in reference to the traditional attire worn by Tamil men during Pongal festival in South India.
Highlighting Vijay's popularity, Bigil was the top 10 'Most Tweeted about hashtags in India' according to Twitter India in 2019, and the most retweeted tweet in the entertainment category.
Referred to by fans and media as "Thalapathy" (commander), Vijay is among the most popular figures in South India. He has been included several times in the Indian edition of the Forbes Celebrity 100 list, based on the earnings of Indian celebrities. In 2012, he was ranked #28, in 2013, he was ranked #49, in 2014, he held the #41 slot, in 2016, he held the #61 slot, and in 2017, he was ranked #31. Speaking in 2019, trade analyst LM Kaushik told Firstpost, "When it comes to overseas, it's safe to say Vijay is the second biggest South Indian star next to Rajinikanth [...] $10 million lifetime earnings for a film from foreign territories is a big dream for any South Indian actor. Vijay has achieved that benchmark twice with Mersal and Sarkar. When it comes to the UK, Sri Lanka, and France, Vijay has become the biggest superstar with supreme box office numbers."
Vijay's top contemporaries from fellow South Indian industries, such as Mahesh Babu of the Telugu film industry, have not had the consistent success in overseas markets that Vijay does despite their popularity in the Western market, according to Firstpost writer Surendhar MK. A popular overseas distributor, who wished to remain anonymous, told Firstpost, "Mahesh Babu's best overseas totals range somewhere between $4 to 5 million for his films, compared to Vijay's consistently increasing box office stamina in foreign markets". In addition, the overseas distributor added, "Ajith's Vedalam, Vivegam, and Viswasam have only grossed close to $5 million lifetime overseas total. Ajith is considered as Vijay's biggest arch rival, and his overseas box office has not witnessed any surge in the last few years compared to the latter. Vijay's collaborations with Atlee and AR Murugadoss have significantly transformed his overseas box office might. The kind of stories he chooses and the contemporary societal issues his films deal with are also some of the reasons for his strong overseas pull."
Vijay also enjoys box office dominance in Kerala. Sarkar broke the opening day record of Baahubali 2: The Conclusion in Kerala, emerging as the biggest day-one grosser in Kerala. Box office tracker Irshad, who analyses Kerala and the UAE-GCC territories, said, "Vijay is the only other language actor who is still able to pull the first-day crowd in Kerala on par with the "Big Ms" (Mammootty and Mohanlal). Ghilli was the turning point of his career in Kerala. It surpassed the record set by Kamal Haasan's Indian and then Pokkiri broke director S. Shankar and Vikram's Anniyan record. Vijay's domination in Kerala started from Pokkiri, and it continues even today."
In 2002, Vijay appeared in Coca-Cola India advertisements. He has appeared in a Sunfeast advertisement in 2005. In 2008, Vijay was signed up as an ambassador for the Indian Premier League cricket team Chennai Super Kings. In 2009, Coca-Cola India signed Vijay as their brand ambassador in Tamil Nadu. He also appeared in a Coca-Cola advertisement again. In August 2010, Vijay was signed by Jos Alukkas as their brand ambassador for Tamil Nadu and Kerala. He also appeared in a Tata Docomo advertisement. In 2017, a third standard Central Board of Secondary Education textbook has displayed Vijay's image with veshti and shirt in reference to the traditional attire worn by Tamil men during Pongal festival in South India. Highlighting Vijay's popularity, Bigil was the top 10 'Most Tweeted about hashtags in India' according to Twitter India in 2019, and the most retweeted tweet in the entertainment category.
Vijay (actor)