While a lion’s share of Malayalam movies released in theatres during 2023 failed to breakeven, the other-language films earned huge collections. Most of these non-Malayalam movies screened in Kerala were big-budget productions with superstars playing the lead roles. At the same time, this trend sparked a debate over whether the success of movies in other languages brought any benefits to the Malayalam film industry.

Incidentally, the biggest beneficiary of the trend was Gokulam Movies, which distributed blockbusters such as ‘Jailer’, ‘Leo’ and ‘Jawan’ in Kerala.

Rajini wave
Among the most popular films to be screened in Kerala in 2023 was superstar Rajinikanth’s ‘Jailer’, which collected around Rs 57 crore from the state. Even before its release, the movie could create a hype much higher than usual Rajini films. The presence of legendary actor Mohanlal also attracted many viewers. With the film exceeding the expectations of the audience, theatres ran to packed houses for several weeks. ‘Jailer’ also earned more fans for director Nelson, music director Anirudh and Kannada superstar Shiva Rajkumar in Kerala.

Shahrukh fans celebrate
Two big Hindi movies by superstar Shahrukh Khan gave several reasons for his fans in Kerala to celebrate. Overcoming controversies, ‘Pathan’ was a hit in the state too, earning a collection of Rs 13.16 crore.

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Soon after ‘Pathan’, another Shahrukh movie ‘Jawan’ was released. With the superstar teaming up with director Atlee and Tamil star Vijay Sethupathy enacting the antagonist’s role, movie lovers thronged theatres and the film earned Rs 13.40 crore in Kerala.

Vijay’s run continues
Tamil superstar Vijay, who has a huge fanbase in Kerala, continued to enjoy his popularity with the release of two movies – ‘Varisu’ and ‘Leo.’ While ‘Varisu’ collected Rs 13.02 crore, expectations from the Lokesh Kanakaraj-helmed ‘Leo’ were higher. Expectedly, viewers thronged the theatres, earning around Rs 60 crore for the latter.

Other popular films
‘Oppenheimer’, the Hollywood movie based on the life of the scientist who led the team that created the atomic bomb, also was house-full in the state for the first few weeks. The collections for the film amounted to Rs 9.65 crore.

Similarly, the Tom Cruise-starrer ‘Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning’ also earned Rs 5.28 crore in Kerala.
Other non-Malayalam films that drew viewers to theatres included ‘Mark Antony’, ‘Por Thozhil’, ‘Ponniyin Selvan 2’, ‘Jigarthanda Double X’, ‘Maamannan’, ‘Chithha’ and ‘Animal.’ ‘Salaar’, released towards the fag end of the year, also collected Rs four crore on the opening day.

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