Malikappuram: Unni Mukundan’s film overtakes Dulquer's Kurup box office collection, sets sights on Premam & Drishyam

Malikappuram held its ground even on the 30th day of its release, running houseful in several theatres in Kerala

Stills of Malikappuram, Drishyam and Premam

Unni Mukundan’s Malikappuram’s run is unprecedented. The movie, which released in theatres in Kerala on December 30, not only held its ground for a month, but also increased the number of theatres from 145 to 230 on its 30th day – a rare feat for a Malayalam movie in the post-pandemic era.

The film, according to its makers, has already overtaken the Kerala box office collection of Dulquer Salmaan’s Kurup. The latter, which was helmed by Srinath Rajendran and released while the 50% theatre occupancy was still in place in theatres across Kerala in November 2021, had collected Rs 32 crore from Kerala box office. Malikappuram has apparently collected over Rs 40 crore this past weekend, from Kerala theatres alone.

Also read: Vineeth Sreenivasan on Malikappuram: ‘Films that get response beyond social media will also be made now’ | Exclusive

The movie has now set its sights on Nivin Pauly’s Premam and Mohanlal’s Drishyam, which grossed Rs 41 crore and Rs 43 crore from Kerala theatres. Malikappuram is expected to overtake both the film by next weekend, considering that the movie grossed Rs 1 crore on its 30th day – probably the first ever Malayalam film to do so.

Malikappuram, which is helmed by Vishnu Sasi Sankar and scripted by Abhilash Pillai, revolves around the relationship between an 8-year-old girl named Kalyani and Lord Ayyappa. The film also stars Saiju Kurup, Renji Panicker, Alphy, Ramesh Pisharody and Manoj K Jayan in pivotal roles. The movie also had its other-language release last week – with both Tamil and Telugu versions hitting theatres.

The film, which is made on a budget of Rs 3.5 crore, has already become the highest grossing movie in Unni Mukundan’s career and this year’s first superhit. In an earlier interview with us, Unni said that people had laughed him off when he predicted that the movie would be a bigger hit than Meppadiyan. “Theatres in Kerala have started to support Malikappuram because it’s bringing families back to cinema halls. The confidence level that I have carried in my life has helped me withstand all these trials and tribulations,” he said.

Malikappuram's OTT rights have been bought by Disney+ Hotstar, which is expected to stream the film in February.

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