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Among Malayalam cinema’s 11 flops in February, one made just Rs 10,000 against Rs 1.60 cr budget; industry’s losses in 2025 soar to Rs 150 cr

Overall, Malayalam cinema generated just Rs 23.55 crore in February against a cumulative budget of Rs 75.23 crore.

Among the February releases, Officer on Duty was the only film to turn a profit. The biggest disaster was Lovedale. (Credit: Facebook/@KunchackoBoban, IMDb)

Compared to 2024, when Malayalam cinema saw multiple superhits and an industry hit by March, the year 2025 has been largely underwhelming. The only major blockbuster so far has been director Jofin T Chacko’s alternate-history mystery thriller Rekhachithram, starring Asif Ali and Anaswara Rajan in the lead roles. In just the first two months of the year, a whopping 45 films hit the screens, among which only two managed to become theatrical hits, pushing the industry’s total losses beyond Rs 150 crore.

Continuing its initiative from last month, the Kerala Film Producers’ Association released a new report detailing the budget and revenue (theatrical share) of Malayalam films that debuted in the state in February. While the number of new releases dropped from 28 in January to 17 in February, the financial landscape remained bleak, with no signs of recovery. Alarmingly, one film, Lovedale, earned as little as Rs 10,000 at the box office against a budget of over Rs 1.60 crore.

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Among the February releases, Jithu Asharef’s Kunchacko Boban-starrer Officer on Duty was the only film to turn a profit, earning Rs 11 crore in theatrical share against a Rs 13 crore budget. Despite being major releases, Bromance, Daveed and Painkili struggled at the box office, grossing just Rs 4 crore, Rs 3.5 crore and Rs 2.5 crore, respectively, against budgets of Rs 8 crore, Rs 9 crore and Rs 5 crore.

The biggest box office disaster of the month was Vinu Sridhar’s Lovedale, which made a meagre Rs 10,000 against a budget Rs 1.60 crore. Other major disasters were Aathma Saho (Rs 1.5 crore budget, Rs 30,000 earnings), Ariku (Rs 1.5 crore budget, Rs 55,000 earnings) and Randaam Yaamam (Rs 2.5 crore budget, Rs 80,000 earnings).

Kerala Producers Association’s February Releases Valuation Report pic.twitter.com/PD83PbrTMi

— AB George (@AbGeorge_) March 19, 2025

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Meanwhile, actor Dhyan Sreenivasan added another bomb to his list with his Aapp Kaise Ho, penned by the actor himself, managing just Rs 5 lakh against a Rs 2.5 crore budget. Actor Unni Mukundan, who delivered his first Rs 100 crore grosser in December 2024 with Marco, also faced a setback as his Rs 9.99-crore film Get Set Baby earned only Rs 1.40 crore.

Overall, Malayalam cinema generated just Rs 23.55 crore in February against a cumulative budget of Rs 75.23 crore. However, this still marked an improvement compared to January, when the industry recorded losses exceeding Rs 100 crore, earning only Rs 30.52 crore in theatrical share against a total budget of Rs 132.37 crore.

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