The teaser trailer for the film was unveiled on the occasion of Dhanush's birthday (28 July 2018) and received positive response from fans. Furthermore, celebrities such as Shah Rukh Khan and Anurag Kashyap praised Dhanush and Vetrimaaran's work in the teaser. The makers unveiled a set of posters featuring the lead characters starting from 6 August 2018. In mid-August, Dhanush announced that Vada Chennai, will be released worldwide on 17 October 2018, coinciding the Dusshera weekend. The film was premiered at the Pingyao International Film Festival in China before the theatrical release, and also premiered at the 23rd International Film Festival of Kerala in November 2018. The merchandise of Vada Chennai, was launched by Cover It Up and Fully Filmy on 15 October 2018, as a part of the film's promotion. Four days before the theatrical release, the film was sent to the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), where it received an A certificate, due to "raw and gritty violence". Scenes where dialogues mentioning and referring to the former Chief ministers J. Jayalalithaa, M. G. Ramachandran and M. Karunanidhi, where removed from the film, as it was considered defaming the politicians. Post-release, the film drew criticism for allegedly portraying the residents of North Chennai in a bad light. The film also drew controversies from fisherfolk community, because of a love-making scene between Ameer and Andrea was pictured in a boat, which was considered to be offensive for the community. Director Vetrimaaran, in a video statement, apologised to anyone who may have been hurt by the film. Then the director agreed to remove the offensive scenes from the film. The film was later dubbed Hindi as Chennai Central and released on YouTube by Goldmines Telefilms on 21 June 2020. Reception Box office In the first day of theatrical release, Vada Chennai earned from the Chennai city box-office and in over 300 screens. The film gained $48,840 ( lakh) from the premiere shows screened in United States on 16 October, a day before the Indian release. The film further earned from the second day at Chennai box-office, and had collected worldwide. Within the third day, the film earned at the worldwide box-office, tallying its three-day collection to . During its theatrical run in the weekends, the film enjoyed good footfalls and had collected within two days, adding its worldwide collection to . The film grossed in Karnataka, in rest of India,