In the second week, Asif Ali's 'Kishkindha Kaandam' saw a strong dominance by registering more shows than Tovino Thomas-starrer 'ARM'.
Published Sep 23, 2024 | 4:13 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 23, 2024 | 4:16 PM
'ARM' and 'Kishkinda Kaandam' neck and neck at Kerala box office. (X)
Among the Onam releases, Asif Ali’s Kishkindha Kaandam has come out as a front-runner with the help of word-of-mouth publicity after its initial days.
With only a trailer to create curiosity among film enthusiasts, the movie has become the dark horse of the Onam season, nearing the ₹50 crore mark. It also witnessed an overwhelming response from the audience and critics alike, becoming the biggest hit in Asif Ali’s career.
Directed by Dinjith Ayyathan, the whodunit thriller is written by Bahul Ramesh who has also done the cinematography of the movie.
Kishkindha Kaandam has a strong dominance at the box office by registering more shows than Tovino Thomas-starrer Ajayante Randam Moshanam (ARM).
Interestingly, when South First contacted a theatre on the opening day of Kishkindha Kaandam, the theatre management opined that there was less hope for the Asif Ali movie.
ARM crossed the ₹50-crore mark in just five days, owing to the strong promotions and the tag of a “pan-Indian movie”.
However, as the box office numbers changed and Kishkindha Kaandam became a super hit, the same theatre owner noted that the ARM bookings were lower compared to the Asif Ali-starrer.
The exhibitor also confirmed that there were organising more shows for the Asif Ali film in his theatre due to the overwhelming demand from audiences and fans.
Further, the leading ticket booking platform BookMyShow shows that Kishkindha Kaandam has an upper hand in bookings over ARM.
While ARM earned ₹87 crore at the box office and Kishkindha Kaandam collected around ₹46 crore in its second weekend. It is to be noted that both movies are of different genres.
ARM is a period fantasy drama, while Kishkindha Kaandam is an investigation drama.
Meanwhile, Antony Varghese Pepe’s Kondal, which was expected to do good business for Onam for its action sequences, fell flat.
A major problem with the Malayalam film was its repetitive scenes at the sea. The audience expected intense action at regular intervals.
Bad Boyz, directed by Omar Lulu, too couldn’t satisfy the majority of viewers due to the dominance of ARM and Kishkindha Kaandam.
Last year, RDX—featuring Shane Nigam, Antony Varghese Pepe, and Neeraj Madhav—became the Onam winner, taking over Dulquer Salmaan’s King of Kotha and Nivin Pauly’s Ramachandra Boss & Co.
Interestingly, RDX was produced by Weekend Blockbusters, which backed Kondal. Meanwhile, Ramachandra Boss & Co was bankrolled by Magic Frames, which co-produced ARM along with UGM Productions.
With ARM and Kishkindha Kaandam having tight competition, it’s sure that there will be a tiff in the online space on who will dominate the Kerala box office.
(Edited by Sumavarsha)
