Thudarum: Day 2 better than Day 1 in Bengaluru; nearly doubles show count

Malayalam superstar Mohanlal’s latest family drama thriller, Thudarum, opened to overwhelmingly positive response, with audiences hailing it as the return of ‘the complete actor’

Mohanlal (left) in a still from Thudarum

Malayalam superstar Mohanlal is looking at his second consecutive hit of the year after L2 Empuraan with Thudarum, the Tharun Moorthy (of Operation Java and Saudi Vel lakka fame) directed film that released in theatres on April 25, 2025. The film took the Kerala box office by storm, especially after first-day-first-show reviews began pouring in and audiences could not stop gushing about the triumphant return of OG Mohanlal, the complete actor who, they reckon, has been missing in action for a few years.

In Bengaluru, the main centre of the Karnataka box office, Thudarum began with around 126 shows on Day 1, and is said to have made around Rs 0.5 cr, which is way less than the Rs 4 cr start Empuraan had in the state, but better than the Vishu release Alappuzha Gymkhana. Of course, a comparison with Empuraan is futile, given that the film was released by Hombale Films with over 1,000 shows. With only a tenth of the show count, Thudarum has actually made an impressive start.

Thudarum in Bengaluru: Rs 0.5 cr on Day 1

This, of course, also meant that by Day 2, the film had a lot more shows, almost doubling the count to about 220 shows in Bengaluru only. Advance bookings were phenomenal, and trackers recorded that close to 200 of these shows were either fast-filling or sold out by 6 pm on Saturday, April 26. Box office figures of Day 2 are yet to come in, but it goes without saying that it is much better than Day 1.

Thudarum’s day 1 all India net is estimated to be around Rs 5.25 crore, almost entirely from the Malayalam original version, despite the release of a Telugu dubbed version as well. Thudarum’s bookings in Bengaluru has got local film aficionados to wonder if the footfalls are entirely from Malayali audiences, or if Kannadigas are also making a beeline to watch Malayalam films.

They point out the box office figures of films like Manjummel Boys, Aavesham and Empuraan, with the latter having amassed around Rs 15 cr from Karnataka, which is higher than the cumulative box office earnings of the 75-odd Kannada films that released in theatres this year.

Also read: Thudarum movie review: Tharun Moorthy’s crafty, gripping thriller lets Mohanlal revel in his ‘complete actor’ avatar

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