Of the 50-odd movies released till 31 March in Malayalam, only ‘Romancham’ starring Soubin Shahir became a super hit.
With over 15 releases in April, Mollywood is looking forward to a good business at BO. (Supplied)
Being a competitively small industry in the South, Mollywood witnessed several instances in the recent past where shows have been cancelled due to lesser footfalls in theatres.
While 50-odd films have hit the cinema halls till 31 March this year, Romancham starring Soubin Shahir in the lead is the only movie that set the cash registers ringing at the box office.
Thanks to mouth publicity, the comedy horror directed by debutant Jithu Madhavan — which was made with a budget of ₹4-5 crore — grossed more than ₹50 crores. Interestingly, it missed many release dates.
Released in December 2022, Malikappuram is the only film to have joined the ₹100-crore club last year, as per a social media post put up by its lead actor Unni Mukundan. The action-adventure drama registered business in January-February this year though.
A poster of ‘Pookkaalam’. (Supplied)
Around 15-18 big and small films are lined up for release this month, starting from 6 April. Needless to say, April is a crucial month for movies as there are three festivals – Eid, Easter, and Vishu.
This is followed by summer vacation, which only means that this is the right time to attract family audiences to theatres.
Priyadarshan’s Corona Papers is releasing on 6 April; Enthada Saji and Pookkaalam on 8 April for Easter; Adi, Madanolsavam, and Made in Caravan are hitting the screens on 14 April for Vishu.
Neelavelicham is hitting the theatres on April 20 for Eid. This is followed by Kadina Kadoram Ee Andakadaham, Sulaikha Manzil, Ayal Vaashi, and 2018 on 21 April.
Fahadh Faasil’s Paachuvum Albutha Vilakkum will be released on 28 April.
As per trade analysts, over ₹100 crores are riding on all these Malayalam films.
These apart, Shaakuntalam (14 April), Ponniyin Selvan 2 and Agent (28 April) are the major movies from other languages that are being dubbed into Malayalam.
Given the festive season and vacation, the exhibitors are expecting a huge turnout in theatres this month.
“We are expecting good business this month. If the movies releasing on 8 and 14 April evoke a good response from critics and audiences, we will register an average collection till Eid,” Anoop Naroor, Managing Director of Aura Cinemas, which has multiplexes in two locations in the Kannur district, told South First.
He hoped that people would visit the theatres again after Ramzan based on the good reviews.
Can #April revive #Malayalam box-office ? 18 films to release in #April!
There has been 50 odd releases till Mar 31, out of which only 1 made money from theatricals the mega blockbuster #Romancham. #April 2023, biggest festival season in #Kerala – #Easter, #Vishu & #Ramzan pic.twitter.com/r0aGAidMkq
— Sreedhar Pillai (@sri50) April 3, 2023
After Romancham, there wasn’t a movie that could draw the audience back to cinema halls and the box office remained dry due to the dearth of blockbusters.
Tamil films Pathu Thala and Viduthalai Part 1 didn’t register collections as expected. Even Nani’s Dasara (Malayalam dubbed version) hasn’t helped the exhibitors. “We are facing severe losses. We need some solace in the form of another Romancham or Malikappuram to recover from our losses,” Anoop added.
A poster of ‘2018’ movie, (Supplied)
Sometimes, there are no releases for a couple of weeks. Sometimes, there are not enough theatres to screen the handful of films releasing in a week. “These are extreme situations and we don’t know how many of these movies would sustain in the long run. It’s a huge gamble,” he pointed out.
Since a slew of flicks is lined up for release in May too, he hoped they would do good business.
Meanwhile, films that didn’t work in theatres reportedly received good reception after OTT streaming. In a TV debate, producer Suresh Kumar said his film Vaashi (2022) starring Tovino Thomas and Keerthy Suresh didn’t do well in theatres. However, he got some relief after it was streamed on Netflix.
Films with good content draw audiences to theatres. He cited the examples of Malikappuram and Romancham which became a huge success in theatres last year, Producer Vinod Shornur told South First.
Malikappuram recorded major profits in January -February this year as the movie was released on 30 December, he added.
When asked about comedy films gaining popularity and serious films like Iratta not witnessing footfalls in theatres in recent times, he said, “Many films with serious plots have been received well on OTT platforms. I don’t know why Iratta didn’t work in theatres though.”
A poster of ‘Ayalvaashi’. (Supplied)
Vinod Shornur, producer of Pookkaalam which is set to release on 8 April, observed that the movie-watching pattern of audiences has changed post-Covid. He attributed the reasons to the advent of OTT and the hike in ticket prices.
“A family visits a theatre only if the film entertains. I watched Jaya Jaya Jaya Jaya Hey in the theatre first and then took my family as it was really good. Family audiences are willing to spend huge amounts on theatrical releases but only if there’s paisa vasool entertainment,” he asserted.
While the exhibitors are waiting for good films to keep their businesses afloat, the film producers are hoping for box office successes to maintain consistency in trade. Let’s see what’s in store for these April releases!
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