PremiumJailer vs King of Kotha vs RDX vs Ramachandra Boss & Co at Kerala box office: It's a blockbuster Onam
Jailer, King of Kotha, Ramachandra Boss & Co and RDX are keeping the cash registers ringing at the box office this Onam holiday.
Last Updated: 12.13 PM, Aug 27, 2023
Onam festival for long has been synonymous with good movies and lavish feasts. However, in the last couple of years, the festival was dull on the movie front. Owing to the pandemic struggles, the production of many movies was affected, release dates were postponed and it seemed the Malayalam filmmakers lost their ability to plan and produce movies for festival releases. It was a harrowing period for the theatres in Kerala, which had to rely on movies from other languages for survival.
The Onam rush at the Kerala box office
However, this Onam festival season is looking a lot different as the box office is packed with big blockbusters. Superstar Rajinikanth's Jailer, Duqluer Salmaan's King of Kotha, Nivin Pauly's Ramachandra Boss & Co and RDX, starring Shane Nigam, Neeraj Madhav and Antony Varghese are keeping the cash registers ringing at the box office.
The cinemas across Kerala witnessed great business as the combined collections of all four movies grossed over Rs 5 crore on Saturday. The Sunday also looks very promising for cinemas across the state, foreshadowing the next few days of holiday.
King of Kotha struggles with mixed reviews
King of Kotha opened in cinemas worldwide amid a lot of fanfare. Thanks to Duqluer's aggressive campaign, the movie took in more than Rs 15 crore at the box office. The movie, however, became the biggest opener in Kerala as expected. King of Kotha raked in Rs 5.75 crore from its ticket sales on its opening day in Kerala alone. And the Kannada movie KGF: Chapter 2 remains the biggest opener at the Kerala box office with Rs 7.3 crore gross.
However, the mixed reviews for King of Kotha affected its growth in the following days. On Friday, the movie reportedly collected a little over Rs 2 crore in Kerala. Yet, the movie remains steady at the box office and the trade is confident that it will become a hit. As per the predictions, King of Kotha might cross Rs 35 crore at the worldwide box office during its opening weekend.
The jury is still out on Ramachandra Boss & Co
In the meantime, Nivin Pauly's Ramachandra Boss & Co is also slowly finding its audience at the cinemas, despite mixed reviews. Written and directed by Haneef Adeni, Ramachandra Boss & Co is a buddy comedy that revolves around a heist. Even though the movie was not Nivin's comeback that many hoped it would be, still it added momentum to the festive mode at the cinemas. Besides Nivin, the movie also stars Vinay Forrt, Jaffar Idukki, Mamitha Baiju, Aarsha Chandini Baiju, Vijilesh and Sreenath Babu.
Jailer, the true box office king
Rajinikanth's Jailer continues to remain one of the top choices of movie-goers at the Kerala box office, despite the release of new Malayalam movies. The success of the Tamil movie shows the true potential of Rajinikanth's stardom in the state. Even Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan took time out of his schedule to Jailer in cinemas.
Jailer has become the biggest Tamil earner in Kerala. It has already raked in more than Rs 50 crore in ticket sales in the state alone and its earnings are expected to grow due to the Onam holiday. According to the producers, by the end of its third week, Jailer had earned over Rs 525 crore from its worldwide ticket sales.
RDX, the Onam dark horse
ALSO READ: RDX movie review: Shane Nigam, Antony Varghese's film rides high on pulsating action scenes
RDX, the small-budget action interior, is turning out to be the true Onam winner among the new Malayalam releases. Directed by Nahas Hidayath, the movie revolves around three best friends and their love for street fights. The movie received a slow start at the box office as the other two Malayalam movies took the important screens. However, the reports claim that the demand for movies is on the rise and is being moved to bigger screens.