Malayalam cinema 2026 half-yearly report: Death of multi-starrers and rise of underdogs?

Vinayak, Hashir, Alan Bin Siraj, and Ajin Joy in Vaazha 2. (Credit: Instagram/@hashireeeee)

Either way, there’s no doubt that Dominic Arun’s Kalyani Priyadarshan-led Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra emerging as the industry hit last year, and Vaazha 2 becoming the fifth-highest-grossing Malayalam film of all time, pushes filmmaking aspirants to focus on sharpening their visions since no formula or specific ingredients can promise success.

Regardless, the first half of 2026 was largely so-so for Malayalam cinema. While some of the most anticipated movies of the year underperformed at the box office, opening to predominantly unfavourable reviews, the audience love-bombed the few that they liked, ensuring that they received their due share of appreciation and success. The period, in short, proved to be largely a mixed bag for the industry, with far too many misses alongside the hits.

Q1 2026: A dismal start and the Aadu 3 respite

Unlike last year, when the industry opened 2025 with the massively successful Rekhachithram and the widely acclaimed Ponman, January was largely disappointing this time. Despite significant hype, particularly given that the movie was inspired by WWE-style wrestling, Adhvaith Nayar’s Chatha Pacha failed to impress audiences and underperformed at the box office.

While riding high on the success of Akhil Sathyan’s Sarvam Maya, which was still enjoying a triumphant theatrical run following its December 2025 release, actor Nivin Pauly faced a massive setback during this period, as his Baby Girl, helmed by Arun Varma, turned out to be a disaster.

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Even though a handful of other films, such as Febin Sidharth’s Nikhila Vimal-starrer Pennu Case, Nadirshah’s Magic Mushrooms, and Jeethu Joseph’s Valathu Vashathe Kallan, hit the screens in January, only Vijesh Panathur’s horror-comedy Prakambanam created some waves in theatres, even if the movie was simply a middling affair overall.

February was also largely dull for Malayalam cinema, with pretty much all outings, except two, turning out to be forgettable. Although Johnpaul George’s Indrans-starrer Aashaan opened to favourable responses, it failed to capitalise on them. While actor Bhavana’s Anomie and director G Prajith’s Jayaram-Kalidas starrer Ashakal Aayiram disappointed, Arunlal Ramachandran’s Mathew Thomas-led Sukhamano Sukhamann turned out to be a massive dud.

However, the month also witnessed two highly experimental films — Krishand’s Masthishka Maranam and Rajesh Madhavan’s Pennum Porattum — grabbing audience attention, even though they couldn’t translate their positive word of mouth into strong collections. Despite Masthishka Maranam being a high-concept cyberpunk comedy and Pennum Porattum being a chaotic comedy that experimented with the form extensively, they carved out a niche and later found a wider audience following their OTT releases.

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Since March is the month of school exams, the first few weeks are usually rather quiet, and the situation was no different in 2026 either, particularly since it coincided with Ramadan this time. Although Jithu Satheesan Mangalathu’s Sambhavam Adhyayam Onnu caught a few eyes, the poor release planning significantly affected the movie’s prospects.

At a time when Malayalam cinema was staring at a dismal Q1 in 2026, Midhun Manuel Thomas’ Aadu 3 arrived towards the end of March as a saviour, offering some respite and reviving the struggling theatres to some extent. The third instalment in the eponymous franchise, the Jayasurya-led film opened strongly, thanks in particular to the postponement of Geetu Mohandas’ Yash-starrer Toxic. However, the mixed-to-negative reviews Aadu 3 earned eventually slowed the movie down, and it ended up with a worldwide gross of just Rs 120.11 crore, according to industry tracker Sacnilk, despite arriving amid significant anticipation.

Nivin Pauly, meanwhile, delivered his second bomb in three months as director B Unnikrishnan’s Prathichaya left audiences utterly disappointed. A few other releases, such as Bhishmar and Derby, also went unnoticed.

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The Vaazha 2 phenomenon: Changing box office game

But April changed the game for Malayalam cinema, turning the tide in its favour as Vaazha 2 became one of the biggest hits in the industry’s history. The movie’s success also highlighted the power of a well-planned release. Since it revolved around a group of boys, mapping their lives from late teenage to early adulthood, the makers knew it would appeal to Gen Z and Gen Alpha. Hence, they released the movie in the first week after the exam season concluded, and with Drishyam 3’s postponement to May, Vaazha 2 had an uncontested debut. Thanks to massively favourable reviews, the coming-of-age comedy-drama breathed life into Kerala theatres and even became a solid success in a few other states, grossing Rs 235.26 crore worldwide.

Despite arriving amid the Vaazha 2 tsunami, Krishnadas Murali’s Saiju Kurup-led Bharathanatyam 2 Mohiniyattam also emerged as a significant success, highlighting the power of solid storytelling. A sequel to Bharathanatyam (2024), which underperformed at the box office but found a massive fanbase following its OTT release, Mohiniyattam definitively proved that audiences would still flock to cinemas, even to watch a small-scale film, if it is well-made. The Saiju Kurup-starrer, mounted on a reported budget of just Rs 5-6 crore, grossed over Rs 50 crore despite stiff competition from Vaazha 2.

 

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As both Vaazha 2 and Mohiniyattam continued drawing audiences into cinema halls throughout the month, the colossal bombing of director Dijo Jose Antony’s Tovino Thomas-Kayadu Lohar starrer Pallichattambi didn’t bleed Malayalam cinema that much. However, it indeed dealt yet another blow to Tovino, who hasn’t had a single bona fide solo hit in a while.

Although Ratheesh Balakrishnan Poduval’s Oru Durooha Saahacharyathil earned widespread praise for Kunchacko Boban and Dileesh Pothan’s performances, the film failed to impress audiences overall. The Sharaf U Dheen-Kalyani Panicker starrer Madhuvidhu also didn’t create much impact, despite impressing a section of the audience.

Summer vacation feasts turn into disappointments

Even as the industry raked in big bucks in May, it was a month of disappointments, as all the movies the audience were looking forward to — expecting a summer-vacation feast — failed to meet expectations. It started with Patriot. Despite marking the on-screen reunion of Mammootty and Mohanlal after 17 years since Twenty:20 (2008) and being directed by Mahesh Narayanan — known for movies such as Take Off (2017), C U Soon (2020), Malik (2021), and Ariyippu (2022) — Patriot couldn’t soar beyond a certain point.

Although the film earned praise for its bold exploration of a serious topic, many were disappointed by the lack of commercial elements they had hoped to see in a Mammootty-Mohanlal film. Its poor promotion, which failed to emphasise enough that Patriot was an espionage thriller and not a commercial star vehicle, also hurt the movie, ending its box-office run at just Rs 79.98 crore globally.

While the Shane Nigam-led Dridam and the Vishnu Unnikrishnan-starrer Revolver Rinko disappointed the audience, the movie Ankam Attahasam, featuring Madhav Suresh, went beyond being a disaster. It also sparked controversy after the makers alleged review bombing, particularly by one YouTuber. However, even the few audience members who had the misfortune of watching Ankam Attahasam in theatres were seen bashing the movie on social media quite brutally.

Mohanlal and Mammootty in Patriot. (Credit: Facebook/@Mammootty)

Despite arriving amid significant anticipation and massive promotions, director Arun Anirudhan’s Athiradi, starring Tovino Thomas, Basil Joseph, and Vineeth Sreenivasan in the lead roles, impressed only a select audience. Although it minted about Rs 67.69 crore globally, according to Sacnilk, the reviews were largely average, with particular criticism directed at its writing and performances.

Arguably the most anticipated Malayalam film of 2026, Jeethu Joseph’s Mohanlal-led Drishyam 3 may have left the audience, including its fans, fed up with the franchise altogether, ‘thanks’ to the makers’ attempt to milk it until its udder is fully dried up. Despite receiving largely unfavourable reviews, the movie emerged as the fourth-highest-grossing Malayalam film of all time, earning Rs 239.82 crore worldwide.

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Malayalam cinema wrapped up May by delivering two more unimpressive films — Paul George’s Antony Varghese-led Kattalan and Subhash Lalitha Subrahmanian’s Sreenath Bhasi-starrer Karakkam, among which the former became a massive disaster owing to its hefty budget.

Considering that Mollywood Times marked the sophomore directorial venture of Abhinav Sunder Nayak, who helmed Mukundan Unni Associates (2022), the Naslen-starrer was highly hyped. However, the makers may have oversold the movie, as it landed nowhere near audience expectations, rendering it just an average success.

Small-scale saviours and the road ahead

On the other hand, Chidambaram S Poduval’s Balan: The Boy, penned by Jithu Madhavan, offered the industry respite, showcasing the power of a well-conceived small film that’s headlined by powerhouse performances. Not just the audience, Balan opened to largely impressive reviews from industry insiders as well, many of whom described it as the finest film of the year so far. Debutant actors Farzana Palathingal and Adhisheshan, in particular, earned widespread acclaim for their performances in the movie.

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June’s passable affairs included Dhyan Sreenivasan’s Secret of Kalinga, Dileesh Pothan’s Sathyathil Sambhavichathu, the Indrans-Madhubala starrer Chinna Chinna Aasai, and Roshan Mathew’s Uyir, while the biggest disappointment of the month was Arya’s Ananthan Kaadu, penned by Murali Gopy.

Although Malayalam cinema’s box-office performance was satisfactory during the first half of 2026, it has yet to produce a solid critical-cum-commercial success of the kind it never fails to deliver at regular intervals.