Malayalam producers explain why they get just Rs 55 cr when a movie grosses Rs 150 cr: ‘There are payments…’

As a result, although Lokah (Rs 303.67 crore), Empuraan (Rs 265.5 crore), and Thudarum (Rs 234.5 crore) rank at the first, second, and fourth spots, respectively, in the list of the highest-grossing Malayalam films of all time, 2025 cannot be dubbed a phenomenal year for the industry overall.

Also Read | Mohanlal–Jeethu Joseph’s Drishyam 3 enters Rs 350 cr club after record pre-release business, reveals Thudarum producer

Recently, renowned producers M Renjith and Listin Stephen opened up about the struggles faced by Malayalam cinema, revealing that only about 10 films bring in returns of Rs 10 crore or more for their producers each year. They also mentioned that producers receive only one-third of a movie’s gross and noted a steep decline in the number of films produced in Malayalam each year.

While taking part in a session at the second edition of Manorama Hortus along with Listin, M Renjith of Rejaputhra Visual Media, which bankrolled Mohanlal’s blockbuster Thudarum, said, “If a film makes Rs 150 crore, the producer gets around Rs 55 crore. Then there are payments to be made to the government, distributors and other stakeholders. It’s the gross collection figures that lead to Income Tax (I-T) raids. Now the officials have come to realise that total collection is not the actual profit.”

ICYMI | Mohanlal, Priyadarshan made a pan-Indian film for Rs 2.5 crore, completed shoot in 60 days; but couldn’t recoup its massive budget

Pointing out that the number of Malayalam movies dropped from 247 in 2023 to 229 in 2024, Renjith added that this number has fallen further and is likely to be around 200-210 this year.

Opening up about the woes of producers, Listin Stephen of Magic Frames, known for bankrolling movies such as Ajayante Randam Moshanam (2024), Kaduva (2022), and Jana Gana Mana (2022), observed, “Since Covid, the remuneration of the artistes and the technicians has gone up. Now, satellite rights and OTT are two distinct aspects. This has affected returns. We decided to release actual collection figures to serve as reminder to those who take huge money as remuneration. Our intention was not to drive away new producers. Only 5 per cent producers rely on own fund to produce a film, rest of the fraternity avail loans, partnerships and other means to make a film.”