Mollywood heaved a sigh of relief after a Malayalam movie entered the ₹100-crore club amid a string of continuous flops.
The makers of 2018: Everyone is a Hero claimed that the movie is the fastest one to reach the ₹100-crore milestone — in just 10 days. The survival-thriller movie is running to capacity crowds in all theatres even on weekdays across Kerala.
Record breaker
The movie, released on 5 May, had earned ₹44 crore by its second Monday, 16 May, from Kerala alone. On its seventh day, it had earned ₹50 crore.
Fastest 50 CRORE Club Entries Mollywood (World Wide)
1. #Lucifer – 4 Days
2. #Kurup – 5 Days
3. #BheeshmaParvam – 6 Days
4. #2018Movie – 7 Days
5. #KayamkulamKochunni – 11 Days pic.twitter.com/qbWCIIDXjy— Snehasallapam (@SSTweeps) May 11, 2023
Review: 2018 recreates horrific floods; reminds us of resilience of Keralites
Directed by Jude Anthany Joseph, the movie is performing well in all markets. Dubbed the “real story of Kerala”, it grossed ₹5.6 crore in Kerala on Monday, 15 May, morning, taking the total collection since its release from the state to ₹40.10 crore.
The collection was ₹93 crore and the magic number of ₹100 crore was achieved by the end of Monday. The ₹100 crore included worldwide collections as well.
#2018Movie : ALL-TIME RECORD in the UK (£429,636 – 4.42 crs) Canada, Australia (A$292,440 -1.60 cr), New Zealand (NZ$97,657 – 51 Lakhs)…🔥
UAE – ALL TIME NO #3 ($2.73M – 22.5 crs.)…
Worldwide – ALL TIME NO #3 (93 crs.)…Moving to ATBB + IH 🔥 pic.twitter.com/ZfGYxNtM0f
— AB George (@AbGeorge_) May 15, 2023
Earlier, Mohanlal-starrer Lucifer (2019) had entered the ₹100-crore club in 12 days as per trade analysts. Mohanlal’s Pulimurugan (2016) was the first movie in Malayalam to reach the ₹100-crore mark. Mammootty’s Madhuraraja (2017) and Bheeshmaparvam (2022) also garnered ₹100 crore each.
MILESTONE 🔥#2018Movie HITS 100 CRORE GROSS COLLECTION IN JUST 11 DAYS !!!
FASTEST 100 CRORE Beating #Lucifer (12 Days)
MOLLYWOOD 💥 pic.twitter.com/JDyQEVciwx
— Snehasallapam (@SSTweeps) May 15, 2023
Related: Tovino Thomas on cloud nine as ‘2018’ gets hit talk
The movie, 2018, is based on real-life incidents that happened during the devastating floods that battered Kerala five years ago.
The film gained appreciation from the audience and critics alike. Tovino Thomas, Asif Ali, Narain, Kunchako Boban, Lal, Aparna Balamurali, Indrans, and many other actors have featured in this movie.
The movie is a sincere effort to showcase how Malayalis stood together during the floods that took away their houses and even relatives.
The producer reportedly expressed happiness about the movie’s success as its collection sailed past the production cost.
Theatres screening 2018 have houseful boards across Kerala. Additional night shows were shown in many centres after the movie rode on word-of-mouth response.
Despite the makers not promoting the movie much, it had a flying start from the first show on release day itself.
The trend indicated that the movie will collect around ₹150 crore. Mohanlal’s Lucifer is the only Malayalam movie to earn ₹200 crore globally.
The film is produced by Venu Kunnappilly, CK Padma Kumar, and Anto Joseph under the banner of Kavya Film Company. Interestingly Anto Joseph and Venu Kunnappily had produced Malikappuram (2022), which also earned ₹100 crore.
2018 is a ray of hope for the industry as Romancham was the only super hit movie of the year even though around 70 films had been released so far. King of Kotha, Ram, and Malaikottai Vaaliban are some of the films having high expectations now.