Malayalam Cinema's Golden Year: Record Breaking Box Office Success and Pan-India Appeal

Thus far, Malayalam cinema has had an incredible year. The Malayalam cinema industry was never known for turning out high-grossing movies; instead, it was more well-known for its excellent content than its box office performance. But 2024 has shown to be an exception, with the sector having completed approximately 80% of its business in just four months of last year. With almost ₹500 crore in theater income over the previous three and a half months, Malayalam cinema has decisively outperformed every other Indian film industry. Notable films that have done very well include Premalu, Manjummel Boys, Bramayugam, Aadujeevitham — The Goat Life, Aavesham, and Varshangalkku Shesham. Interestingly, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and the twin Telugu states have all seen exceptionally strong box office performance from these flicks, even outside of Kerala.

PINK PATCH

Independent producer Sethumadhavan Napan discussed the current trend and if 2024 will indeed be the best year for Malayalam film, stating that both commercially and qualitatively, this has been the best time for the sector. The 1990s were Malayalam cinema's prime years. But if you were to compare Malayalam film in 2024 to the previous few years, particularly in the last three and a half months, this has likely been the greatest period.

"It appears that Malayalam cinema has covered the third and fourth quarter of 2023 business by the end of March 2024. As April draws to a close and Aavesham and Varshangalkku Shesham continue to play well in theaters, it's reasonable to estimate that roughly 80% of last year's revenue has already been generated. There is still a lot of the year left, so I'm sure more records will be established, he continued.

Based on actual events, Manjummel Boys is a survival thriller and the first Malayalam movie to earn more than ₹200 crore. It is also the highest-grossing Malayalam movie ever, having been directed by Chidambaram. With almost ₹50 crore in gross earnings, the film became the highest-grossing Malayalam film in Tamil Nadu, where a significant portion of its earnings came from.

CROSS-BOUNDARY

"Previously, the two main sources of business activity were Kerala and outside, with the majority of the latter coming from the Gulf countries. The fact that the rest of India is also boosting business is encouraging, particularly for Manjummel Boys, who mostly sourced their business from Tamil Nadu. Sethumadhavan predicted that additional movies with similar success would soon be released in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and even the Telugu states.

One of the most trustworthy and adaptable performers in Malayalam film today, along with industry veterans Mammootty and Mohanlal, is Fahadh Faasil.

For several weeks, Manjummel Boys and Premalu both had incredible runs in Tamil Nadu. According to a theater owner, Tamil films weren't doing well commercially, therefore these movies helped theaters in the state flourish. "Tamil cinema has had a dismal year, with the exception of one or two films that are doing rather well commercially. For four to five weeks, Manjummel Boys and Premalu were the main draw for large crowds of people. Manjummel Boys, in contrast to Premalu, did not even have a Tamil dubbing, but it was a huge hit, playing to full houses all throughout the state.

Both of the movies kept doing well in Tamil Nadu theaters even after the IPL season began. Additionally, Premalu made over ₹15 crore in Telugu states. S.S. Karthikeya, the son of S.S. Rajamouli, released the Telugu dubbing of the movie. Karthikeya recently congratulated Telugu people for the incredible response to the film in a post on X.

Why are Malayalam movies becoming so popular outside of Kerala? The beginning of the pandemic four years ago unintentionally or intentionally set the trend. Malayalam film was one of the greatest winners during this time. People began to watch Dulquer Salmaan, Prithviraj, and Fahadh Faasil flicks everywhere. Not only did directors like Dileesh Pothan and Mahesh Narayanan gain popularity among moviegoers but also among the general public. This era has made it so that there is now noticeable enthusiasm when a Malayalam film is released. It is not exclusive to Malayalis living in India. Indeed, a sizable portion of non-Malayali viewers are eagerly anticipating Malayalam films as well, according to Sethumadhavan.

Once they reach OTT channels, the majority of these movies maintain their strong performance long after their theatrical run. One of the highest grossing Malayalam films of the year, Premalu, is presently receiving a lot of attention on Disney+Hotstar. After its OTT release, the little funded movie Aattam, which performed poorly in theaters, has been gaining popularity with viewers.

A SEPARATE ADEQUATION

According to another theater owner, this is not a recent occurrence. Over the years, Tamil Nadu has seen strong box office performance from Malayalam films of high quality. Among the best examples are Premam, Pulimurugan, and 2018. Naturally, it will be difficult to duplicate the level of success that Manjummel Boys and Premalu experienced. It all comes down to interesting material. Because Manjummel guys is a story about camaraderie and features exclusively guys, it struck a deep chord with the local audience. The theater owner claimed that since friendship-themed movies have typically performed well in Tamil Nadu, people were eager to see this one.

In a recent media interview, actor Prithviraj Sukumaran discussed the extraordinary success of Malayalam cinema while promoting his most recent film, Aadujeevitham: The Goat Life, which took in over ₹100 crore worldwide. "We are evolved enough to understand that anybody's success is everybody's success," he remarked, speaking about the current moment. I know that I am benefiting from Manjummel Boys, Premalu, and Bramayugam's success when it comes to both their box office performance and the discussions surrounding these movies. Why is The Goat Life suddenly becoming more popular? I owe Bramayugam, Premalu, and the Manjummel Boys that. I am aware that my success might be facilitated by their success.

We are aware that when a group of people work together to create a fantastic movie, everyone wins. We therefore do a lot of favors during the filming process, which is why every one of our films ends with a five-minute thank-you note. Although we are now much larger, the work culture that existed in our once tiny, intimately known sector is still deeply embedded in our film culture, he continued.

A sequel to the groundbreaking success of Premalu has been announced by the film's creators, and it is scheduled to release in theaters early next year. "I can't say much about Premalu 2, but I can confirm that it will be more fun and energetic than the first part," director Girish AD remarked in reference to the sequel.