Vishwaroopam faced legal controversies at the time of its release and had a delayed release in Tamil Nadu and many major overseas markets. The movie was severely affected by the delay and lost its potential to do bigger business. Nevertheless, Vishwaroopam was estimated to be Kamal Hassan's highest grosser worldwide besting Dasavatharam.

The movie met with highly positive reviews amongst critics and moviegoers. It took a great opening in the metros while lacking a strong ground in mass centers. A bigger opening could have been possible if it was not for its fragmented release. Piracy and protests severely damaged the movie's total gross in Tamil Nadu.

Vishwaroopam had an excellent run in its Hindi version grossing nearly 18 crores - the 2nd highest for a Hindi dubbed film after Enthiran. The movie also did huge business in Karnataka becoming the 2nd highest grossing Tamil film in the state after Enthiran. In Andhra/TG, Vishwaroopam was not met with a great response and died quickly from ticket counters. In Kerala, Vishwaroopam faced trouble with the Kerala Exhibitors Federation and thus had a very limited released in A centers across the state.

Vishwaroopam grossed a total of 92 crores worldwide with 72.60 crores from India and USD$3.68M from abroad. It was the 3rd highest grossing Tamil film of the year and the 6th highest grossing Tamil film at the time.