Aavesham grossed another Rs. 1 crore plus on its fourth Tuesday yesterday, bringing its total gross in India to Rs. 98 crore. The film is on the cusp of crossing the coveted Rs. 100 crore milestone which it should achieve in the next couple of days. Aavesham has also secured its place as the third highest-grossing Malayalam film ever, surpassing Pulimurugan and Aadujeevitham. The two films ahead of it are Manjummel Boys and 2018.
2024 has been an exceptional year for the Malayalam film industry. Four of the top six highest-grossing films in the industry's history were released in the first four months of this year, including the top-grosser. One would normally speak about how rare such occurrences are, but coincidentally, Bollywood had its top four grossers ever released in a single year last year. There, the four films were released over 12 months, while in the case of Mollywood, it all happened in three months.
The highest-grossing Malayalam films at the Indian box office are as follows:
| Rank | Title | Year | Gross |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manjummel Boys | 2024 | 168.00 Cr. |
| 2 | 2018 | 2023 | 107.00 Cr. |
| 3 | Aavesham (25 days) | 2024 | 98.00 Cr. |
| 4 | Pulimurugan | 2016 | 97.50 Cr. |
| 5 | Aadujeevitham | 2024 | 97.00 Cr. |
| 6 | Premalu | 2024 | 94.50 Cr. |
| 7 | Lucifer | 2019 | 75.00 Cr. |
| 8 | RDX | 2023 | 55.50 Cr. |
| 9 | Neru | 2023 | 52.50 Cr. |
| 10 | Bheeshma Parvam | 2022 | 50.50 Cr. |
The Fahadh Faasil starrer was looking good for reaching second place with a final number of around Rs. 110 crore. However, with its digital release scheduled for the 9th of May, its theatrical run in Kerala will practically come to an end, making it impossible to go any higher. It’s a shame that Aavesham will be missing on several records and benchmarks due to early digital release.
As mentioned before, in a state like Kerala where films tend to have longer runs, a four-week OTT window isn't ideal. Earlier this year, both Manjummel Boys and Premalu benefited from delayed digital releases, allowing them to extend their box office presence. Premalu grossed close to Rs. 40 crore after its fourth week, while Manjummel Boys grossed Rs. 33 crore, including their Telugu dubbed releases. Achieving similar numbers would have been challenging with an early digital release, as is often the case. Aavesham is potentially losing out on at least Rs. 10 crore due to this early digital release.
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