Explained: Unni Mukundan’s Marco recovers only Rs 20 Cr in theatre share, did it collect Rs 115 Cr at box office?

The recent lists let out by the Kerala Film Producers’ Association – about the budget and theatre shares of the latest Malayalam movies, have become a hot topic for film enthusiasts. With film producers official K Suresh Kumar challenging makers of Malayalam cinema to show at least one movie that has got over Rs 100 Cr in theatre share, has also got fans doubting the authenticity of the box office figures let out by the teams of recent films that were deemed superhit.

Unni Mukundan’s Marco, which is set to begin streaming on Sony LIV soon, is the latest Malayalam movie to collect over Rs 115 Cr in worldwide gross, according to its makers. However, the figures let out by the producers show that it has only collected Rs 20 Cr in theatre share. So, what’s the reason for the discrepancy?

Unni Mukundan’s Marco collects Rs 20 Cr in theatre share

This doesn’t mean that the makers of Marco have fudged the numbers. Industry tracker Sacnilk tracked the Indian market collection Marco’s by the end of its first month to Rs 61 Cr, out of which Rs 41 Cr came from its Malayalam version.

Explaining the difference between overall gross collection and theatre share, Kerala Film Chamber of Commerce official and director Anil V Thomas tells us, “The figures that are published by makers are overall gross collection. The theatre share, which goes solely to the producer, is only a partial amount of this. For instance, if a movie makes Rs 100, 30% of this goes as tax, and the remaining 70% is divided between the producers, and distributors and exhibitors. For the first week, the producer gets 50%, the second week, 55% and third week onwards, 65% of this share.”

So, even a movie like Manjummel Boys, which is the highest-grossing Malayalam film ever, would only have brought in less than Rs 50 Cr as theatre share, explains Anil, adding that no Malayalam movie has fetched Rs 100 Cr theatre share as of now. 

Also read: Marco star Unni Mukundan: The reason I got into films was to express myself and to do that you have to... | Exclusive 

Among December releases, Marco and Rifle Club had a theatre share of Rs 12 Cr and Rs 9 Cr against budgets of Rs 9 Cr and Rs 18 Cr, respectively. Mohanlal’s Barroz tanked at the box office, with a theatre share of just Rs 4 Cr against its whopping Rs 112 Cr budget.

Rekhachithram, the sole haymaker in January 2025

Meanwhile, Asif Ali’s Rekhachithram is the only superhit in January 2025, fetching Rs 12.5Cr for its producer against Rs 8.5 Cr budget. Movies like Tovino Thomas’ Identity, which is currently streaming on ZEE5, and Basil Joseph’s Pravinkoodu Shappu had burned a big hole in their respective producers’ pockets. While the former was made on a budget of Rs 30 Cr, it returned only Rs 3.5Cr to the producer, while Basil’s film had a theatre share of Rs 4 Cr against its Rs 18.5 Cr budget.

Also read: Mollywood box office report card of January 2025: Blockbuster Rekhachithram tops the list, second spot taken by...