Kurup has amassed over Rs. 75 crores. Given enough time, we are sure that this film can earn Rs. 100 crores from the box office itself. These numbers have proven one thing to Mollywood filmmakers – audiences are willing to attend theatres to view a good enough film. And after a tumultuous 20 or so months, film production companies, distributors and theatre owners seriously needed to know that. And with ‘Kurup’ having such a brilliant start, we expect other medium-to-big Malayalam films to opt for theatrical releases as well.
Kerala theatres have been suffering for almost 20 months (and they continue to suffer) since the coronavirus pandemic hit the nation. With the state having been hit by another deadly virus (the Nipah virus) years ago, they were ready for the spread and contained the state pretty decently during the first lockdown. However, by the time the second wave had come around, people had started to become lax in vigilance and the Covid-19 virus started spreading across the state again. After fighting for months, theatres finally reopened to a bleak Kerala.
Theatres during this time have been shut, except for a brief 4 month period (between the first and second waves of coronavirus). The state government had theatres closed for almost 15 months in total, so theatres in Kerala have been a ridiculously hard time. After such a long break and two statewide lockdowns, many people were happy to stay at home for a few more weeks. However, thanks to ‘Kurup’, people have started to leave, to watch films in theatres – and Kurup has rewarded audiences, especially thriller fans.
We expect Malayalam filmmakers to look at this turnout and be encouraged by the massive turnout to theatres. Kerala theatres might be having problems right now, but with ‘Kurup’s’ reception and the upcoming Mohanlal historical epic, ‘Marakkar: Lion of The Arabian Sea‘, we expect theatres to start filling (at the maximum capacity of 50%) for the next few months, bringing in a lot of much-needed income.
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