YEAR ENDER 2021: It’s almost the end of the year and the good news is that with the reopening of the cinema halls, both cinegoers and the film fraternity are quite happy. Malayalam film industry (Mollywood) witnessed release of some of the most successful movies in movie theaters post the lockdown. Here’s looking back at the top 5 top-grossing Malayalam movies at the year-end:
THE PRIEST
Directed by Jofin T. Chacko, this is a supernatural horror mystery film that collected Rs 53 crore worldwide. This Mammootty-starrer grossed over Rs 36 crore in Kerala within its four-day opening weekend. This movie emerged to be the first Malayalam movie to earn Rs 1 crore in Saudi Arabia.
ONE
This Mollywood flick turned out to be the second highest-grossing film of 2021 in Mollywood. It collected Rs 50 crore, while the budget was Rs 10 crore. Released in March this year, the movie was directed by Santhosh Vishwanath. The political drama film had Mammootty, Gayatri Arun and Murali Gopi in lead roles.
KURUP
This crime thriller crossed the Rs 35 crore mark worldwide. It collected Rs 17.35 crore in India and Rs 21 crore overseas. Directed by Srinath Rajendran and produced by Dulquer Salmaan, the hit movie turned out to be a huge commercial success. It was not only a box office hit in Kerala, but also in UAE. Released in May, the movie collected a total of Rs 38.25 crore.
OPERATION JAVA
Another Mollywood hit to gain huge BO collection was directed by Tharun Moorthy. Its box office collection was estimated to be Rs 32 crore. This cybercrime thriller was made on Rs 3.5 crore budget. The movie was released in February. It had an ensemble cast starring Balu Varghese, Mamitha Baiju, Lukman Avaran among many others.
CHATHUR MUKHAM
A techno-horror film for which the expenditure was Rs 5.5 crore, went on to do a phenomenal business of Rs 21 crore. This was another Mollywood movie that received major commercial success despite being released amid pandemic. It was directed by Ranjeet Kamala Sankar and Salil V, and starred Manju Warrier.
