Mollywood
Drishyam 2 Re-release Struggles at Kerala Box Office with Under Rs.5 Lakh Collection; All Eyes Now on the Grand Theatrical Arrival of Mohanlal's Drishyam 3 this May 21
BY CHRISTA LINCY
The strategy to build momentum for the upcoming Drishyam 3 through a theatrical re-release of its predecessor has met with an unexpected roadblock. On April 10, 2026, Drishyam 2 returned to the big screen across Kerala, but the box office response was notably cold. Reports indicate that the film collected less than ₹5 lakh across the state, failing to cover even the basic operational costs and theater rentals. While the sequel was a global sensation upon its initial release, its struggle to draw crowds back to the cinema highlights a growing disconnect between digital popularity and theatrical conversion. To understand the magnitude of this franchise, one must look at the unprecedented success of the original Drishyam released in 2013. That film was a landmark hit in Malayalam cinema, produced on a modest budget estimated at ₹3.5 to 5 crore, but it went on to achieve a total worldwide gross of approximately ₹62 to 63 crore. It made history by becoming the first Malayalam movie to cross the ₹50 crore milestone, maintaining its status as the highest-grossing film in the industry until it was eventually surpassed by Pulimurugan in 2016. Its theatrical dominance was undeniable, running for over 150 days in Kerala and enjoying a remarkable 125-day run in the UAE. However, the journey of Drishyam 2 followed a different trajectory due to the global pandemic. In 2021, the film bypassed a traditional theatrical release and premiered directly on Amazon Prime Video. While it became an instant digital sensation with massive global viewership and critical acclaim, its history as an OTT-first product has impacted its 2026 theatrical prospects. Because the film has been readily available on streaming platforms for years and was consumed by millions at home, the April 2026 re-release lacked the freshness required to pull audiences away from their screens, resulting in the current lackluster collection figures. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}) The strength of the brand remains undisputed, as the original Malayalam story has spawned highly successful remakes in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, and Hindi, along with several international versions. Despite the weak performance of the re-release, the anticipation for Drishyam 3 remains significantly high. Scheduled for a worldwide release on May 21, 2026, the film is expected to be the final chapter of the Georgekutty saga. Directed by Jeethu Joseph and produced by Antony Perumbavoor under Aashirvad Cinemas, the finale will see the return of the core cast, including Mohanlal, Meena, Ansiba Hassan, and Esther Anil. The industry buzz suggests that while the re-release failed as a marketing tool, the demand for a brand-new conclusion to the decade-long mystery is a different financial beast altogether. The plot of Drishyam 3 is being kept under heavy wraps, but insiders suggest it will pick up immediately after the events of the second part, focusing on the final legal and psychological battle between Georgekutty and the authorities. For a franchise that has successfully survived through remakes in multiple languages, the 2026 finale is being positioned as a global event. While the ₹5 lakh re-release figure is a setback for distributors, the primary focus for the producers remains the May 21 window, which is expected to see one of the biggest openings for a Malayalam film to date, as fans look for the ultimate closure to this three-part story.
