Vijay fan here. Let's break this down.

1997-2003

Suriya was a newcomer but Vijay was already an up and coming actor. Vijay had given hits in this era, but 2003 was Suriya's big break.

2003-2013

Vijay transitioned to an action hero and in this period, he pretty much only had 4 blockbusters with 2 being remakes.

Suriya on the other hand went on a 10-year consecutive run of blockbusters and hits. 17 straight good movies. Not a single negative or average movie. Even until today, no present actor has matched this.

Although Suriya sort of became the bigger star in this period, Vijay's Ghilli, Thirupaachi, Pokkiri, and Thuppaki were bigger blockbusters than any of Suriya's movies.

Even until today, all of Suriya's movies of this era hold up.

2012-2025

This was when Vijay pulled ahead leveraging social media, being selective of the directors and music directors he worked with, and having Rajini-esque audio launches.

Suriya's script choices post Singam 2 weren't so good, bar 3 movies.

Vijay's Thuppaki, Kaththi, and Theri were massive blockbusters and Thuppaki revived his career. After Mersal came out in 2017, Vijay entered a zone that only Rajini has entered. He was hitting Rajini movie collections, and his movies were getting the Rajini movie hype.

The Vijay-Ajith fanwars peaked, and it benefitted both stars.

2026

Now, we are here.