In 2023, Malayalam cinema faced profound disappointment. Frankly speaking, to say it was merely disappointing would be an understatement. By the year’s end, the industry found itself rapidly descending into a downward trend, with the possibility of hitting rock bottom looming closer and no sign of improvement in sight.
Despite the success of films like 2018 and RDX, the industry struggled to counteract the overall decline. Shockingly, only a handful of films managed to even protect producers from facing significant losses. Thus, the producers’ association said that the industry incurred a collective loss of about Rs 300 crore, Times of Indiareported, leaving a bleak and concerning outlook. Even in terms of content quality, the situation appeared grim as exceptional films were rare occurrences, with the majority leaving audiences thoroughly disappointed.
January
However, unlike in 2023, Malayalam cinema made a grand entrance into 2024 as the first film to be released, Aattam (The Play), garnered widespread acclaim and sparked discussions. While Aattam didn’t achieve significant box office success initially, it became a focal point of conversation. Its digital premiere further enhanced the movie’s acclaim, multiplying its glory manifold. To be honest, it’s doubtful if any film from the previous year could match the overall excellence of Malayalam cinema’s first film of 2024.
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In contrast to 2023, when the industry had to wait until the third week of January for an outstanding movie — Lijo Jose Pellissery’s Mammootty-starrer Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam — Aattam gave Malayalam cinema a strong start. Similarly, there was no need to wait until February, as was the case last year with Jithu Madhavan’s horror comedy Romancham, for Malayalam cinema to witness its first major hit. Just six days after Aattam, Midhun Manuel Thomas’ crime thriller Abraham Ozler arrived, providing a strong shot in the arm to the industry. Despite being an average film, Ozler attracted audiences to cinemas, grossing approximately Rs 40.7 crore worldwide, thanks to the presence of a slightly revamped Jayaram and a surprise cameo appearance by Mammootty. With Ozler revitalising the market and box office, anticipation grew for the release of one of the year’s most eagerly awaited Indian films — Lijo Jose Pellissery’s Mohanlal-starrer Malaikottai Vaaliban. Thence, the backlash Kamal’s Shine Tom Chacko film Vivekanandan Viralanu received quickly faded away.
However, the industry’s hopes for setting a new record by producing an all-time highest-grossing movie were dashed when Malaikottai Vaaliban failed to impress audiences and garnered polarised reviews. The most appalling point here was that not only did the film fail to meet expectations but also the increasingly negative word-of-mouth greatly impacted its earnings, resulting in Vaaliban becoming a box office bomb. This disappointment, particularly given the film’s high-profile cast and director, left moviegoers disheartened, leading many to anticipate another year plagued by box office letdowns, especially since a total of 17 movies hit the screens in January, as against 15 in the same month last year, and other small projects did not turn any heads.
February
The first week of February saw the release of seven more movies, and needless to say, not a single one made any waves. While all eyes were set on Bhoothakalam director Rahul Sadasivan’s much-hyped period horror film Bramayugam, starring Mammootty and scheduled for release on February 15, two major movies hit the screens in the second week of the month — Darwin Kuriakose and Tovino Thomas’ Anweshippin Kandethum and Girish AD’s Naslen and Mamitha Baiju-starrer Premalu. With Ozler fading and Vaaliban failing to attract audiences, both new releases received a strong opening, particularly Anweshippin Kandethum, benefiting from Tovino’s popularity. Theatre owners, eager to replace Vaaliban, jumped over these two films, especially the Tovino-starrer, recognising their buzz. However, the outcome surprised many, as Premalu received more acclaim for its simple yet impactful storytelling, humour and performances, while Anweshippin failed to leave a lasting impression. Nonetheless, Tovino’s film emerged as a super hit, grossing Rs 40 crore globally against its reported budget of Rs 8 crore. Meanwhile, Premalu made waves nationwide, capturing the hearts of audiences in every region, besides garnering attention from ace filmmaker SS Rajamouli and Telugu superstar Mahesh Babu. Rajamouli’s son Karthikeya acquired the Telugu distribution rights for Premalu, which recently concluded its theatrical run after amassing over Rs 130 crore worldwide, thus becoming the first blockbuster of the year.
While in 2023, Malayalam cinema experienced a wait of nearly three months after Romancham for another hit, or essentially five months for its first blockbuster, in 2024, the Malayalam industry saw another significant success in February itself, the fourth one in two months, with Mammootty’s Bramayugam. For the actor, who had been making jaws drop with his remarkable film choices and performances, including last year’s Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam, Kannur Squad and Kaathal – The Core, Bramayugam added to his list of achievements. The black-and-white period folk horror became a national talking point, with audiences and critics alike discussing its merits, leading to substantial success with a global gross of about Rs 85 crore. With Premalu, Anweshippin and Bramayugam enjoying a tremendous run and sharing screens amongst themselves, albeit with some difficulty due to a limited number of theatres, duds like Thundu went unnoticed.
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However, the industry’s lack of strategic planning regarding release dates, combined with the influx of films, complicated matters as a week following Bramayugam’s release, two more films — Don Palathara’s Family and Chidambaram’s Manjummel Boys — hit theatres. While Family aimed to carve out a niche audience, Manjummel Boys capitalised on composer Sushin Shyam’s prediction of the movie becoming a trendsetter and garnered attention and immediate commercial success due to positive reviews from all quarters.
At the same time, the lack of planning worked surprisingly in favour of the Malayalam industry afterwards, as Premalu, Bramayugam and Manjummel Boys took over screens, overshadowing Anweshippin Kandethum and prompting its early debut on OTT platforms. The trio, together, attracted a significant number of audiences into cinema halls nationwide. The challenging times faced by most industries, with few non-Malayalam films making a significant impact, presented our industry with an unprecedented opportunity. The quality of these movies and the fact that they all belonged to different genres, sharing absolutely no similarities, unlike the films produced by Malayalam’s counterparts, helped them maintain their momentum. Following the success of Premalu, Manjummel Boys also made a mark in the Tamil and Telugu markets, impressing local audiences too, particularly due to the emotional depth of Malayalam films in general.
March
In March, as school exams season began, there were no major releases. While several smaller films tried to gain traction, the Premalu-Bramayugam-Manjummel Boys trio continued its successful run, attracting viewers, mostly repeat watchers, even after the initial buzz faded. At the same time, assuming that there’s no ‘competition’ in sight, Dileep attempted to swoop in with his crime thriller Thankamani. However, due to its abysmal quality and the actor’s subpar performance, the film became a box office bomb, giving the former trio better prospects. Meanwhile, Anchakkallakokkan and Oru Sarkar Ulpannam received some praise but failed to perform well at the box office.
After the massive failure of Thankamani, attention turned to the release of Blessy’s long-awaited film Aadujeevitham (The Goat Life), starring Prithviraj Sukumaran. With extensive promotional efforts and high anticipation as it was based on a beloved best-selling novel, the film opened to a domestic nett collection of Rs 7.6 crore, surpassing recent blockbusters. With just two weeks before Eid-Vishu releases, Aadujeevitham, released on March 28, dominated cinemas and recorded a Week 1 nett collection of Rs 47 crore.
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Though February and March this year saw the release of 19 and 25 films, respectively, similar to last year’s numbers of 22 and 26 during the same months, three films released in the first quarter of this year — Manjummel Boys, Aadujeevitham and Premalu — made it to the list of highest-grossing Malayalam films of all time, ranking first, fourth and fifth, respectively. According to reports, the cumulative worldwide gross of six Malayalam movies (Abraham Ozler – Rs 40.7 cr, Anweshippin Kandethum – Rs 40 cr, Premalu – Rs 131.3 cr, Bramayugam – Rs 85 cr, Manjummel Boys – Rs 234.55 cr, and Aadujeevitham – Rs 142.65 cr) released in the first quarter of this year is Rs 674.2 crore, as of April 17, marking a successful start for the Malayalam industry.
With the Eid-Vishu releases — Aavesham and Varshangalkku Shesham — also performing well, it’s anticipated that the first half of this year will be highly successful for the industry. Now, let’s hope that amidst this newfound massive success, the Malayalam industry won’t lose its footing or become overwhelmed.
