Exhibitors upbeat as rom-com, content-driven movies helping Mollywood to make it big at box-office

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A still from Bethlehem Kudumba Unit. Photo: Special Arrangement.

The dream box-office run of a rom-com and the enthusiastic audience response to two new releases have instilled hopes among the exhibtors in Malayalam film industry to end the September quarter on a positive note.

Filmmaker A. D. Girish’s Bethlehem Kudumba Unit, featuring Nivin Pauly and Mamitha Baiju in lead roles, has crossed the 300-crore mark in worldwide collections as of Sunday (September 13, 2026), according to the estimates by the Film Exhibitors’ United Organisation of Kerala (FEUOK).

“It has surpassed the record set by director Dominic Arun’s Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra that had collected over 300 crores worldwide,” said Suresh Shenoy, member of the executive committee of FEUOK.

“Bethlehem Kudumba Unit, which was released on August 21, 2026, has earned a Kerala gross collection of about 150 crore, along with an overseas and rest of India total turnover of around 120 crore and 30 crore, respectively, as of Sunday (September 13, 2026). The repeat audience for the movie has shot up its performance at the box-office,” he said.

Exhibitors said that the enthusiastic response to the movies Pradhama Drishtya Kuttakkar and Aasha released on September 11 along with the extended run of Bethlehem Kudumba Unit have eased the situation in September after the much-expected movie I’m Game featuring Dulquer Salmaan in lead role did not rise up to the expectations.

P.V. Basheer Ahamed, president of the Kerala Film Exhibitors’ Association, pointed out that the footfalls for both movies have gone up after the first day of its release. “These movies are receiving a positive response in view of its strong content. It has been proved again that an interesting script will always bring the audiences into the cinemas,” he said.

Directed by Shahad, ‘Pradhama Drishtya Kuttakkar’ has Parvathy Thiruvothu, Vijayaraghavan, Mathew Thomas, Unnimaya Prasad, and Sidharth Bharathan in lead roles. The cast of ‘Aasha’ directed by Safar Sanal includes Urvashi, Joju George, and Aishwarya Lekshmi.

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