Malayalam film industry sees box office highs but widespread losses in 2025
KOCHI: Despite several record- and ground-breaking films, 2025 was a challenging year for the Malayalam movie industry. Big releases such as Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra , L2: Empuraan , and Thudarum set box office records, pointing to the industrys ability to produce sweeping films. However, the Kerala Film Producers Association (KFPA) maintains that only 15 of the 184 Malayalam films released this year were profitable. It has also been a year in which the industry encountered several challenges from the release of monthly collection reports to the re-censoring of films. Lokah, the first Malayalam female superhero flick starring Kalyani Priyadarshan, released in August, became the industrys first film to make it to the Rs 300-crore club. The Mohanlal-Prithviraj combinations big-budget film, Empuraan , entered the Rs 200-crore club, as did another Mohanlal-starrer Thudarum . Film Exhibitors Federation chairman Liberty Basheer said the year was comparatively better for theatres in the state. After the Covid interruption, family audiences are choosing theatres big screens with better audio effects over OTT to watch films. The experience of watching a film is important for moviegoers now. This reverse trend has helped theatres in the state, he said.Also, we need occasional mass films such as Lokah and Empuraan to attract audiences to theatres. People will dole out money to watch quality fare, he added. Former KFPA vice-president G Suresh Kumar said the industry took a loss of R500 crore this year. Films like Thudarum and Lokah generated good box office revenue. But most of the films failed in theatres. Considering their budgets, long shooting schedules, and production costs, the loss is massive, he stated. Backing the numbers released by KFPA, Basheer emphasised that the number of box-office hits are virtually the same every year.We come out with some 10-15 hit and superhit films annually. Earlier, we only had 40-50 new releases a year. Now, with more technicians and producers, this number has jumped to 150-200. But only some 10% of these draw audiences to theatres, Basheer said. Earlier in the year, KFPA initiated the process of releasing monthly collection reports, claiming that the transparency would help producers better understand industry trends and financial outcomes. However, when a section of producers argued that box office figures should not weigh in entirely on whether a film is a commercial success in this era of digital rights and other revenue streams, the association put an end to the publishing of monthly figures. The re-censoring of Empuraan , Suresh Gopi-starrer JSK: Janaki V v/s State of Kerala , and Shane Nigams Haal was also a topic of intense discussion in film circles and among the public. According to Suresh Kumar, the total number of films released declined from 212 in 2024 to 184 in 2025 as mainstream OTT platforms displayed an unwillingness to purchase Malayalam films. REEL DEAL Top box-office hits of the year Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra L2: Empuraan Thudarum Dis Ira Hridayapoorvam Alappuzha Gymkhana Kalamkaval Officer on Duty Eko Rekhachitram
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