Sundar and his supporters win the election, while Pappa and Rendu are arrested for their various crimes. Sarkar was screened at Grand Rex, France. As a result of the film's success, the Election Commission of India created awareness regarding Section 49P of the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961 that allows a voter to have the right to get back his/her ballot back and vote if someone else voted in that individual's name. Sarkar collected US$1 million at the U.S box office after Theri and Mersal. Sarkar is the highest grossing south Indian film of 2018, overtaking Bollywood and Telugu hits like Gold, Raazi and Rangasthalam. Sarkar has grossed ₹260 crore ( US$40 million) worldwide, and has emerged as a commercial success. After lawsuits were registered against the makers, the said allusions were muted. Post-release, the film involved in controversies with reference to Jayalalithaa in the film's audio track and other sequences from the film led to protests by members of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.
It received mixed reviews while Vijay's performance, concept and cinematography was praised, both the screenplay and sequences were criticised.
After various complications, including protests and allegations of plagiarism, Sarkar was released on 6 November 2018, during the week of Diwali.
