The film stars Kamal Haasan in the titular role, alongside Vijay Sethupathi, Fahadh Faasil, Suriya, Narain, Kalidas Jayaram, Gayathrie, Chemban Vinod Jose, Santhana Bharathi and Elango Kumaravel.
The film follows Vikram, the former commander of a black-ops squad's pilot batch, and his efforts to take down Sandhanam, the runner of a drug syndicate Vetti Vagaiyara.
At the end of its theatrical run, the film registered a record highest footfall in 100 years of Tamil Cinema and grossed over ₹500 crore (US$58 million) worldwide.
Amar, the leader of a black ops squad, is called upon by Police Commissioner Jose to bring justice against a group of masked vigilantes responsible for the murder of Stephen Raj, ACP Prabhanjan and his foster father, Karnan.
Vikram frees Bejoy and his team from prison, stating that his vengeance for Prabhanjan's death did not drive his actions; he wanted to bust a drug syndicate in the city.
Vikram mows down Sandhanam's men with a cannon and an M2 Browning, but the remaining members of his black ops squad, Agents Uppiliappan and Lawrence die in the scuffle.
Anbu informs Rolex that Dilli is hiding somewhere in Uttar Pradesh, while Sandhanam's men tell him Vikram's family are abroad (shown to be in San Francisco).
[29][30] On 7 April, after Haasan's commitments during the 2021 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election, Lokesh shared a post through his social media accounts announcing pre-production work for the film had begun.
[31] Because Haasan had decided to shoot for the film only after the election results, in which he contested the Coimbatore South constituency, he demanded Lokesh alter the script;[32] but the pandemic delayed this.
[39] Due to scheduling conflicts, Sooryan left the production and was replaced by Girish Gangadharan;, who had appeared in the Tamil film Sarkar (2018).
[45][46] Raghava Lawrence has stated he was the original choice for the antagonist, which he declined because he felt the character's violent nature would alienate family audiences so the role went to Vijay Sethupathi.
[64] Karthi had been offered a reprise of his role from Kaithi but could not accept due to his filming commitments to the two-part production Ponniyin Selvan (2022 and 2023); he has a voice-only cameo in Vikram.
A set work with more than 50 damaged cars had been filmed in Coimbatore during this schedule; following the actor's diagnosis, the team decided to shift location to Binny Mills for continuity.
[79] Haasan's medical commitments and his participation in Bigg Boss Ultimate further delayed filming, which resulted in the team skipping an entire schedule.
[90] As part of Vikram's promotion, in collaboration with Southern Railways, the production's marketing team placed advertisements on locomotives travelling across India.
[95][96] Raajkamal led the film's marketing campaign; pre-release events were held in Mumbai, New Delhi, Kochi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Dubai and Malaysia.
[111] On 27 May 2022, a special promotion teasing the conference-call sequence from Haasan's fim Panchatanthiram (2002) was released;[112] it featured lead actors from the original film Jayaram, Yugi Sethu, Ramesh Aravind and Sriman.
[124][125] According to Tiruppur Subramanian, president of Tamil Nadu Theatre Owners Association (TNTOA), Vikram received the "widest ever release for a Kamal Haasan film".
[127] Prime Media, which acquired the theatrical rights in the United States, hosted special shows in the country on 2 June, ahead of its Indian release.
[129] Rakesh Gowthaman, managing director of Vettri Theatres, stated anticipation form Vikram was attributed to rigorous promotions from the team.
[126] A week ahead of its release, Madras High Court restrained Internet service providers (ISPs) and over 1,000 unauthorised piracy sites from illegally streaming and downloading of Vikram after one of the production company's executives filed an affidavit ordering the websites not to screen the film.
[134] Before its release, Vikram earned about ₹2 billion from theatrical and non-theatrical revenues, including sales of its satellite, digital, audio and Hindi-dubbing rights.
[135] In late-March 2022, Udhayanidhi Stalin's firm Red Giant Movies acquired the film's theatrical distribution rights in Tamil Nadu.
[167] According to Hindustan Times, at the end of its 113-day theatrical run, Vikram became the highest-grossing film ever in Tamil Nadu, registered a record attendance and grossed over ₹500 crore worldwide.
[171] Divya Nair of Rediff rated the film four stars out of five, and wrote: "With ample whistle podu moments, Vikram is a macho blockbuster that shouldn't be missed".
[172] Soundarya Athimuthu of The Quint rated the film four stars out of five, and wrote; "Lokesh Kanagaraj has loaded Vikram with a battalion of characters but he has ensured that all of them have their due scope to perform, even though some might have lesser screen time including Ulaganaayagan".
[174] Ashameera Aiyappan of Firstpost also rated the film three-and-a-half stars out of five, and wrote: "One glimpse of Kamal Haasan in Lokesh Kanagaraj's Vikram and you just know he is the G.O.A.T".
[175] Sowmya Rajendran of The News Minute rated the film three-and-a-half stars out of five, and wrote: "Lokesh must be applauded for not wasting time on fanboy tributes to the superstar on board, and sticking to telling the story".
[178] Vivek M V of Deccan Herald rated the film three-and-a-half stars out of five, and wrote: "Lokesh has found his own voice and his fast yet admirable growth promises exciting things going forward".
[180] Haricharan Pudipeddi of Hindustan Times stated: "Anirudh Ravichander's music, especially the background score, plays a pivotal role in amplifying the overall experience of watching Vikram on the big screen, apart from the terrific action sequences.