Here's a lowdown on the most-hyped Malayalam movies that faced setbacks and the less-hyped films that became sleeper hits.
Posters of the films (Left to Right) 'Double Barrel', 'Romancham', 'Kannur Squad', '2018', and 'Casanovva'.(Supplied)
Movies, as we all know, are a business without any guarantee. They might work at the box office or not.
Before Covid-19, there were average grossers. But post-Covid, the average ventures stopped having a decent run in theatres, thanks to the advent of OTT platforms.
It’s no secret that the makers of big-budget movies create hype through promotional activities, at least a month before the release. This apparently helps these films register an initial collection in the opening weekend. The profits, of course, depend on the theatrical run.
Interestingly, this year, many hyped Malayalam movies faced a setback due to various reasons — be it the wrong marketing techniques or the targeted negative campaigns — while less-hyped films turned out to be sleeper hits.
South First gives you a lowdown on such ventures:
‘King of Kotha’ opened to mixed reviews. (Supplied)
King of Kotha (2023) helmed by debutant Abhilash Joshiy and headlined by Dulquer Salmaan was the most hyped Malayalam film of this year.
But, soon after its release, the flick received mixed reviews from critics.s
The audience liked its making, but some noted that it didn’t meet their expectations.
King of Kotha also faced targeted negative campaigns, even from the industry.
Following this, director Abhilash Joshiy and actors like Nyla Usha and Shammy Thilakan spoke against the negative campaigns against their venture.
However, industry insiders claimed that promotions went wrong for the Dulquer-starrer.
Thus, the movie, which was expected to be a super hit, ended up as an average grosser at the box office. But it did decent business as the audio rights and OTT rights were sold for a whopping price.
Some of the other big-ticket films such as Mammootty’s Christopher (2023) also saw good promotions ahead of the release. However, Christopher opened to mixed reviews and didn’t do well at the box office.
A poster of the film ‘Kasargold’. (X)
Kasargold (2023), released in September, was promoted vigorously. But it received mixed to negative responses, thanks to the connection issues in the plot.
Director Mridul Nair told South First that he faced pressure from the Mumbai-based corporate producers who asked to cut many scenes which affected the flow in Kasargold.
In another instance, actor Kunchako Boban was accused of not attending promotional events by one of the producers of Padmini (2023).
But the actor claimed that he wasn’t available in the country when the promotions began and that he was not keeping well prior to the release of the flick.
Similarly, in the case of Boomerang (2023), actor Shine Tom Chacko spoke against actress Samyuktha for not attending the promotion of the movie.
Mohanlal in ‘Marakkar Arabikadalinte Simham’. (Supplied)
Many big-budget Malayalam movies have bombed at the box office in recent times.
The failure of Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham (Marakkar: The Lion of Arabian Sea) (2021) helmed by Priyadarshan and headlined by Mohanlal was a serious blow to the entire team who had high hopes for the venture.
The makers organised huge promotions, and there was even confusion if the movie would be released in the OTT due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The movie which received the Best Feature Film award at the 67th National Film Awards received huge negative reviews from audiences and critics.
Visibly upset with the criticism, Mohanlal, in an interview, wondered why people not connected to cinema were speaking ill of his movie. He also noted that one needed to have an idea about filmmaking before criticising.
Similarly, Mohanlal’s Casanovva (2012) too failed at the box office, despite the hype. The actor appeared as a playboy and owner of Casanovva’s Eternal Spring, an international chain of flower boutiques.
A few years after the release, its director Rosshan Andrews and scriptwriter Bobby Sanjay admitted that there were quite a few mistakes in the movie.
In another case, the multi-starrer flick Double Barrel (2015), helmed by Lijo Jose Pellissery, miserably failed to impress the audience. It belonged to the dark-comedy genre and featured characters that were similar to cartoons.
Set in Goa, Double Barrel had an ensemble cast of Prithviraj Sukumaran, Arya, Indrajith, Asif Ali, Sunny Wayne, Swathi Reddy, Rachana Narayanankutty, and Isha Sharvani.
Meanwhile, many less-hyped films became sleeper hits in Malayalam.
Mammootty’s Kannur Squad, released on 28 September, opened to good reviews. Produced by Mammootty Kampany, the movie was distributed by Wayfarer Films.
Interestingly, it didn’t have good promotions before the release. In an interview, Mammootty expressed confidence that people would watch the film if the content was good.
Similarly, Romancham (2023), 2018: Everyone is a Hero (2023), and RDX (2023) entered the ₹100-crore club, though the makers didn’t promote the ventures.
The release date of Romancham was even changed twice. These three films came as a huge relief for theatre owners in Kerala and also the industry which was reeling under the losses caused by Covid-19.
RDX was a delightful victory; it beat King of Kotha and Ramachandra Boss & Co. (2023). Family audiences thronged theatres to watch RDX as word of mouth helped it.
However, King of Kotha lost its audience after the flick received a bad response on day one —which the makers attributed to a targeted hate campaign launched by YouTube reviewers who were paid by the industry insiders.
Kasargold director Mridul Nair told South First that there was no formula to create a successful movie. Many Malayalam directors too admitted that they would have tried the success formula if there was one.
But the success of small films which were released this year — Neymar (2023), 18 Plus (2023), Madhura Manohara Moham (2023), Voice of Satyanathan (2023), Nadikalil Sundari Yamuna (2023), Sulaikha Manzil (2023), Pachuvum Athbutha Vilakkum (2023), and Pranayavilasam (2023) — gives the impression that family and comedy dramas still have audience in theatres.
Romancham had many comedy elements and 2018 had emotional flavours that went down well with the audience.
“All said and done, people visit theatres if there is a wow factor in films which happened in the case of the KGF series (2018 & 2022), Jailer (2023), RRR (2022), and Vikram (2022),” a Kochi-based theatre owner told South First.
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