The Hindu (Thiruvananthapuram)
With back-to-back hits, Mollywood on a roll
Abraham Ozler, Anweshippin Kandethum, Premalu, Bramayugam and Manjummel Boys, the five top grossing films this year have earned over ₹200 cr. in combined record collection in Kerala as of March 1, estimates FEUOK; four of these titles released in February
The Malayalam film industry is back with a bang after a string of flops in 2023.
Five films – Abraham Ozler, Anweshippin Kandethum, Premalu, Bramayugam and Manjummel Boys – released since January have worked wonders at the box office.
As per estimates by the Film Exhibitors’ United Organisation of Kerala (FEUOK), the five films have earned a combined record gross collection in Kerala of over ₹200 crore as of March 1.
Despite the annual exam season and the soaring temperatures, audiences continue to flock to the cinema to watch Premalu, Bramayugam and Manjummel Boys.
The month of February witnessed a bonanza at the box office following four backtoback hits – Anweshippin Kandethum, Premalu, Bramayugam and Manjummel Boys.
Top grossers
“Abraham Ozler released in January will have earned a Kerala gross of around ₹35 crore followed by Anweshippin Kandethum (around ₹25 to ₹30 crore);
Premalu, which is expected to reach the ₹100crore mark, has earned around ₹70 crore as of March 1.
Bramayugam has netted a Kerala gross of ₹35 to ₹40 crore and is going strong.
Manjummel Boys, which completed the first week of its release on March 1, has already earned over ₹30 crore and is marching towards a record gross collection,” said Suresh Shenoy, exhibitor and member of the executive committee of FEUOK.
“The audience response has been tremendous and such a buoyant trend was not visible for some time,” Mr. Shenoy said.
‘Content remains king’
With an interesting lineup of movies, including Aadujeevitham, Aavesham, and Varshangalku Sesham to name a few, getting ready for a theatrical release in the following months, the producers seem elated by the grand box office opening at the start of 2024.
“Content remains the king going by the huge audience response to these hit movies. A combination of factors, which include the prerelease hype, production banner, interesting cast, and storyline also impact the fate of a movie,” said B. Rakesh, secretary of the Kerala Film Producers’ Association.
“The success of these movies at the box office has also shown that film producers need to invest in movies having unique content and storytelling style,” Mr. Rakesh,said.
Though the industry is excited about a possible turnaround in fortunes, increasing production cost and dwindling returns from sale of rights, including OTT, remain a concern.
Theatrical performance
“The digital platforms are looking at the theatrical performance of movies before fixing the price on a movie. Gone are the days when they had lapped up films for attractive rates” said G. Suresh Kumar, president of the Kerala Film Chamber of Commerce.
“There is also no respite from the soaring production cost of a movie, especially the salary for actors and technicians that accounted for nearly 65% of the total budget,” he said.