Tovino Thomas’ 2018 inching closer to Rs 1 crore at the Karnataka box office

Would audiences be okay with watching the devastation unleashed by the 2018 floods onscreen and relive some of the horrors that they or their near-and-dear-ones may have gone through back then? This was one of the apprehensions that people had before the release of director Jude Anthany Joseph’s 2018. But ever since the film came out in theatres on May 5, it seems any such fear was totally unfounded. Audiences have been showering the film with a lot of love. While the box office result of 2018 in Kerala is, no doubt, promising, it’s been good across the border as well.

In Bengaluru, for instance, where the film has released in Malayalam only, on day four of its release with 72 shows, 2018 registered mostly house-full and fast filling halls, with exhibitors set to increase the number of shows to 90 by Tuesday. Box office trackers state that the film’s working day numbers were even better than the preceding weekend and that the Karnataka revenue was steadily inching closer to the Rs 1 crore mark. The three-day gross was Rs 76 lakh. The film is believed to have collected Rs 9.17 crore in its opening weekend, with more than Rs 5 crore coming from the Kerala market. 2018 has been declared a blockbuster.

Starring Tovino Thomas, Asif Ali, Kunchacko Boban, Lal, Vineeth Sreenivasan, Aparna Balamurali, among many others, the film has been bought by SonyLiv for its post-theatrical streaming rights. While no official streaming date has been announced, it is believed that in keeping with the current trend of on or before 30-days from theatrical release, it could drop on the platform. As of now, a tentative June 9 is being reported for the film’s OTT premiere.