Why Malayalam Films Like Manjummel Boys And Premalu Are Doing Well Outside Kerala

The year 2024 started with a bang for the Malayalam film industry. Right in January, Abraham Ozler was released and it opened with immense praises from the viewers and critics alike. The Midhun Manuel Thomas- directorial starred Jayaram, Anaswara Rajan and Arya Salim in key roles while Mammootty was seen in a short role.

Within 16 days of release, the movie grossed more than Rs 20 crore from the Kerala box office and emerged to be a super hit. Abraham Ozler became the first commercially successful Malayalam release of 2024. Now with recent releases like Premalu, Manjummel Boys and Bramayugam, looks like Malayalam movies are becoming crowd-pullers in the theatres.

Premalu hit the silver screens on February 9. This romantic drama helmed by Girish AD is based in Hyderabad and features actors like Naslen K Gafoor and Mamitha Baiju. The movie was released and was lauded by the viewers for its amazing storyline, soulful music, comedy sequences and the performances of the star cast. This low-budget movie quickly grossed over Rs 50 crore worldwide and became yet another highest-grossing Malayalam movie in 2024. Such is its popularity amongst Telugu audiences that the makers decided to get the movie dubbed into Telugu. Hence, ace director SS Rajamouli’s son, SS Karthikeya bagged the rights to the movie.

On February 15, another Malayalam movie made its way into the hearts of the audience, Bramayugam, a horror thriller. It is directed by Rahul Sadasivan and also stars Arjun Ashokan, Sidharth Bharathan, and Amalda Liz. Cine-goers have been flocking to the theatres to watch this horror drama on the silver screens. The movie is set to be released by Sithara Entertainments in the Telugu language in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

Now, on February 22, Manjummel Boys was released. This is a survival drama based on real-life incidents that took place in Kodaikanal Guna caves. The movie drew Tamil audiences as well due to the movie’s connection with Kamal Haasan’s 1991 movie Gunaa and the addition of the famous song Kanmani Anbodu Valanthan.

Reportedly, both Premalu and Manjummel Boys are expected to cross the Rs 100 crore mark. Before this, back in 2018, Pulimurugan, and 2019, Lucifer had crossed Rs 100 crore. This shows that Malayalam cinema is producing quality content and is being enjoyed by viewers outside of Kerala.