PremiumEmpuraan bookings set record in Bengaluru for non-Kannada releases in 2025
Prithviraj Sukumaran’s second instalment in the Lucifer trilogy, Empuraan not only has over 1,000 shows in Bengaluru, but also…
Last Updated: 04.26 PM, Mar 28, 2025
L2 Empuraan, the second instalment in actor-filmmaker Prithviraj’s ambitious Lucifer universe , released in theatres worldwide on March 27. While the Malayalam original film, which is also out with versions in Tamil, Kannada, Telugu and Hindi, took a massive opening back home in Kerala, it is doing phenomenally well in belts with strong Malayali populations as well, like, for instance, Bengaluru.
In Karnataka, the film is being distributed by Hombale Films and it has opened with 1,008 shows in Bengaluru only. Only 12 other films have opened with 4-figure show count in the city. Of the 1000+ shows, around 800 odd have been allocated for the Malayalam version and around 400 of these had fast-filling or sold out status on Day 1, making it a record for non-Kannada films in the city this year.
Empuraan recorded 391 fast filling/sold out shows earlier today, which is more than twice the number registered by Venkatesh’s Sankrantiki Vasthunam (165), Ajith’s Vidaamuyarchi (113), Ram Charan’s (96) and Vicky Kaushal’s Chhaava (81). Bengaluru had 153 early morning shows for Empuraan, starting at 6 am, with Rs 73 lakh gross estimated from these shows.
A day before the film’s release, trackers had recorded a Rs 3 crore pre-sales gross for Empuraan at the the Karnataka box office, which is the highest for any language film in the state this year. There have, however, been allegations of bookings manipulation, with block bookings by the makers/distributors also said to be a part of this revenue.
Meanwhile, Empuraan opened to middling reviews, with the film failing to meet the expectations that had been set following the success of Lucifer. While it was said to be a visual spectacle, with some high moments, audiences remained underwhelmed with the narrative. The film leads into the third and final segment of the trilogy, for which the team has set no timeline yet. Prithviraj, though, has said that his next directorial will not be L3, but a film he’s committed to with Hombale Films.