PremiumManjummel Boys, Aadujeevitham and more: In 2024, Malayalam movies set to defy box office expectations, conquer mass audiences
In 2024, the Malayalam film industry is on the verge of reinventing itself and scaling up its ability to make films that meet the approval of mass audiences.
Last Updated: 12.58 PM, Apr 04, 2024
The Malayalam film industry was in bad shape in terms of box office performance in the post-pandemic market. Even its neighbouring industries, Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada, scaled great lengths in worldwide commercial success with their films, while Malayalam movies struggled to break even at the box office.
However, with the start of 2024, the tables have turned, with Malayalam movies faring much better than other language movies in the first three months of the new year.
Malayalam movies this year have managed to generate revenue of more than Rs 500 crore, showing great zeal in defying the popular perception of the industry. The industry benefited from the new trend of Malayalam movies finding wide acceptance among audiences of other languages.
Malayalam movies dominate box office in 2024
For example, Manjummel Boys created history by raking in more than Rs 50 crore at the Tamil Nadu box office, becoming the first Malayalam film to cross this milestone in Tamil Nadu and changing the image of Malayalam movies among the public in the state. Manjummel Boys also became the biggest earner in the history of Malayalam cinema, raking in about Rs 225 crore . Buoyed by the movie's performance in Tamil Nadu, the filmmakers also dubbed it in Telugu and gave it a huge release in the Telugu states.
The latest romantic comedy, Premalu, also exceeded expectations by raking in more than Rs 135 crore against its modest budget of less than Rs 5 crore. The Telugu version of Premalu was a big hit among the urban crowd, earning over Rs 11 crore at the Telugu box office.
In the meantime, Malayalam superstar Mammootty's psychological horror thriller Bramayugam also performed well in cinemas, raking in more than Rs 55 crore in worldwide ticket sales. Medium-budget investigative thrillers like Anweshippin Kandethum and Abraham Ozler also emerged as hits, each raking in about Rs 40 crore in ticket sales.
Malayalam films thrive beyond borders
Recently, director Blessy's ambitious movie Aadujeevitham (The Goat Life) also took a huge opening, becoming the fastest film in Malayalam to cross the Rs 50 crore benchmark at the box office. By the end of its first week, the film's total collection is pegged at Rs 80 crore, positioning it strongly to become the third Malayalam film to enter the Rs 100 crore club soon.
A narrative had gripped the Malayalam film fraternity, which was not conducive to its commercial growth. The popular narrative was that Malayalam filmmakers make great movies that mostly appeal to highly evolved audiences but may not be suitable for mass consumption.
As a result, the Malayalam film industry incurred a significant monetary loss, with most films failing to generate even a tiny fraction of their modest budgets. Some reports pegged the cumulative loss of the Malayalam film industry in 2023 somewhere between Rs 300 crore and Rs 1000 crore.
In 2023, the success rate of Malayalam films at the box office was less than 10 percent. Out of about 220 films released that year, only 14 managed to make profits, with five achieving 'super hit' status and nine considered 'hits'.
Some movies managed to avoid total financial loss thanks to revenue streams opened by OTT platforms.
However, judging from current trends, the Malayalam film industry is on the verge of reinventing itself and scaling up its ability to make films that meet the approval of mass audiences, cutting across language and cultural barriers.