Empuraan budget revealed; Mohanlal-Prithviraj’s actioner is March’s only profitable Malayalam film among 15 releases

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Made on a budget of Rs 175 crore, Empuraan clocked Rs 24.65 crore from the Kerala box office in the five days it got in March since its release on March 27. During this period, the movie was also embroiled in a controversy over its content, following which it underwent “voluntary modifications”. According to industry tracker Sacnilk, the Mohanlal-starrer grossed Rs 265.5 crore worldwide and ended its theatrical run registering an India nett collection of Rs 105.25 crore. The second installment in a planned franchise that commenced with Lucifer (2019), Empuraan currently ranks as the highest-grossing Malayalam film of all time, a feat it achieved by outperforming director Chidambaram S Poduval’s widely acclaimed survival thriller Manjummel Boys (Rs 240.5 crore).

Among the 15 new releases, director Sidheeque Meicon’s Leech faced the biggest setback, earning just 0.44 per cent of its budget in theatrical revenue. The film minted just Rs 45,000 from cinema halls against a hefty budget of Rs 1 crore, becoming a colossal disaster at the box office. Aranyam, meanwhile, eked out just Rs 22,000, despite being mounted on a budget of Rs 85 lakh. Other major flops include Pariwar, which earned Rs 26 lakh against a budget of Rs 2.6 crore, and Maruvasham (Rs 60,000 against Rs 78 lakh).

Despite opening to positive responses, director Sarath Chandran RJ’s Ouseppinte Osiyathu also faced a setback and ended up earning only Rs 45 lakh from theatres against a budget of Rs 4.04 crore. According to the KPFA report, director Shamzu Zayba’s Abhilasham, featuring Arjun Ashokan and Saiju Kurup, was also struggling to gain momentum during this period and had managed to mint only Rs 15 lakh in three days against a budget of Rs 4 crore.