With mere hours to go for the release of Chiyaan Vikram starrer Cobra, fans and critics are eagerly waiting for the movie, which has been 3 years in the making, to hit the screens. Because of its stupendously long production time, there is a lot on the line for it to be a smash hit. Therefore, before the release of Cobra, let us quickly engage in a SWOT analysis of this R. Ajay Gnanamuthu directorial. 

Strengths: 

1) VIKRAM'S PERFORMANCE - He is undoubtedly the biggest strength of the film given his immense star power and acting prowess. With such versatility as an actor, Vikram is bound to put his best foot forward in this flick.

2) A.R.RAHMAN'S MUSIC - One cannot go wrong with ARR's music and it is safe to say that his tunes and themes will definitely be on the better side of the audience. While his songs have opened to a favorable response, all eyes are now on his background score  for the film and one can expect the legend to leave his mark in an impactful manner.

3) VIKRAM'S MULTIPLE MAKEOVERS - It has been said that Chiyaan Vikram will be seen in the film donning 10 different avatars. This will truly be a visual treat for all fans, critics as well as the general public alike. It is always exciting to see such factors come into play as it adds an extra touch of zest to an already zesty film. Also considering Vikram's past roles in which he had multiple makeovers (Anniyan, I, Iru Mugan, etc.) and given a stellar performance in all, we are sure he will do justice to all 10 of these characters in a similar fashion. Vikram is always a delight to watch and when you have him appearing in multiple makeovers, it is sure to keep you excited, right?

4) AJAY GNANAMUTHU - The director has made a great name for himself within the Tamil film fraternity already with his 2015 debut film Demonte Colony and the 2018 action thriller Imaikkaa Nodigal. Both films showed great promise and took over the box office during their respective run. With such a positive resume in his hands, one can only naturally assume that he is going to give it his all and deliver wonders with Cobra as well. 

5) STRONG MARKETING - In recent days, prior to the film's release, the cast and crew of Cobra went on a complete South Indian tour to promote their upcoming film. They have managed to create hype among the audiences from different parts of the South such as Chennai, Trichy, Madurai, Coimbatore, Kochi, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad. The reception they have gotten from these places during the promo tour has been highly positive and successful which only adds to the film's potential to be a box office smash hit.    

6) SUSPENSE MAINTAINED - It is a really good thing that the film's plot has been carefully kept under the wraps even now unlike other films that give it all away in their trailers themselves. This tactic of the film's makers has led to theories and other speculations about the film's plan to come up which makes Cobra the topic of conversations in recent times. 

Weaknesses: 

1) HIGH EXPECTATION - The film is riding high on its high expectation that has been worked on from the very beginning of the film's announcement back in 2019. With expectations riding high, if the movie doesn't satisfy the mainstream audience, it might backfire on the film, as we have seen happen to a lot of films in the past. However, let us hope that is not the case with Cobra. 

2) COMPARISONS WITH VIKRAM'S OTHER MOVIES - The ending of Cobra's trailer where he says, "I am just a math teacher", in an innocent way seems to be a subtle nod to Anniyan. With one such comparison already found from the trailer, there is a chance that the audience might make comparisons of Cobra to other movies of Vikram's, resulting in a feeling of dejavu amongst them. 

Opportunities: 

1) THEATRICAL RELEASE FOR VIKRAM AFTER A LONG TIME - We will get to see Vikram back on the big screen after Kadaram Kondan which was released way back in 2019. Just like how Kamal Haasan got a massively successful theatrical release with Vikram after 2018's Vishwaroopam 2 which helped upscale his market, this same result can be expected for Chiyaan as well who could very well be looking at a massive market spike post Cobra's release and bring him back as a box office star, to his good old days.

2) IRFAN PATHAN - Former Indian cricket player will mark his acting debut with Cobra. All these years we have seen him as an ace cricketer and it is the first time we get to see him on the big screen as an actor. If his performance turns out well and resonates with the audience, there is a big chance that we can expect to see him venture into the film industry for more roles in the future. 

3) POTENTIAL FOR BEING VIKRAM'S CAREER BEST OPENING FILM - With all the hype going around the film and all the attention that it has garnered over time, adding to the fact that this is Vikram's first theatrical release in nearly 3 years, it is very well possible for Vikram to have his career's biggest opening with Cobra. The advance bookings look terrific and it looks like one of the best ever openings is definitely on the cards. 

Threats: 

1) RUNTIME - With a total runtime of 3 hours and 3 minutes, the film has already exceeded the runtime of most Tamil movies which usually run for 2 hours and 30 minutes (avg). This long runtime will be a great challenge for the makers to keep the audience engaged and engrossed in the story for its duration. This might go awry if the screenplay is weak and does not have enough elements to hold the audience's attention for that long a time. Fingers crossed until tomorrow.

2) PIRACY - Piracy is not a new concept at all in this day and age and ignoring its presence would be an amateur move. The entire film would be illegally recorded and distributed to the public either directly or digitally on online forums and platforms from tomorrow morning. This gives rise to the risk of a drop in audience viewership in theaters as they might consider catching its pirated version at free of cost.

3) BOX OFFICE WINDOW CROWD - Since the film is releasing on a public holiday in the middle of the week, it has the potential to see people flocking to theaters to watch it, and with a week and a half to go, it can attract enough people for a week and a half before the release of another film next week. Therein lies the problem. Next week will see the release of two biggies, Alphonse Puthren's Gold and Arya Starrer Captain, which can possibly derail its smooth run as some single-screen theaters will have to remove it in order to make place for the other two films as well.

This notion of screen sharing might affect Cobra's performance due to the considerable drop in screen numbers. That is not all, the week after that will see the release of STR starrer Vendhu Thanindhathu Kaadu which can furthermore put Cobra in the back seat. This puts Cobra in a very tough spot as it only has a week and a half to prove its caliber before being overshadowed by the aforementioned releases.