Malayalam Cinema has seen only five movies gross more than Rs 200 crore worldwide, with Vaazha 2: Biopic of a Billion Bros being the newest film to do. Which is the best of the lot and which has disappointed us the most? Let's find out!
Key Points
- Vaazha 2: Biopic of a Billion Bros is the fifth Malayalam film to cross the Rs 200 crore worldwide box office mark.
- The film has also become the fastest Malayalam film to gross Rs 100 crore in Keralam, indicating strong audience reception despite competition.
- The other films to gross more than Rs 200 crore are Lokah, L2: Empuraan, Thudarum and Manjummel Boys.
Great news for Malayalam industry box office! Vaazha 2: Biopic of a Billion Bros has become the fifth film to enter the coveted Rs 200 crore club for the industry. What's more, it is the first Malayalam film to achieve this milestone with rank newcomers in the lead.
Directed by Savin SA and scripted and co-produced by Vipin Das, Vaazha 2: Biopic of a Billion Bros released in theatres on April 2, 2026, winning over both critics and audiences.
Despite competition in the days ahead from films like Bharathanatyam 2: Mohiniyattam, Oru Durooha Sahacharyathil and Pallichattambi, it has continued to draw crowds, even becoming the fastest Malayalam film to gross Rs 100 crore in Kerala, according to Sacnilk.
There is also a strong possibility that it could surpass Lokah: Chapter 1 – Chandra, currently the highest-grossing Malayalam film of all time.
For now, however, it sits at the lower end of the Rs 200 crore club (worldwide).
As a cinephile, however, the bigger question to be asked is this: Is Vaazha 2: Biopic of a Billion Bros the best among them, or the weakest? In this feature, Sreeju Sudhakaran takes a look at the five films in this elite club and ranks them from worst to best.
5. L2: Empuraan (2025)
Box Office Collection: Rs 266.81 crore
The most expensive film on this list is, unfortunately, also the weakest. And the most controversial, too.
Directed by Prithviraj Sukumaran, this political action sequel to the 2019 blockbuster Lucifer arrived with immense hype and a massive scale, shot over multiple international locations.
But one can't help wondering, was all of that necessary when the film's most engaging moments unfold in our own 'njangalude kochu Keralam'?
Murali Gopy's screenplay feels scattered, trying to address too much without the narrative cohesion to support it. As a result, several characters, like Tovino Thomas's, feel underwritten, with abrupt shifts that lack proper grounding.
While the film's bold attempt to address the rise of right-wing politics in India is commendable, including its depiction of the 2002 Gujarat riots, it often feels like an weak and instigating narrative device rather than an organically integrated theme.
The delayed introduction of Prithviraj's character further dilutes the emotional weight of the prologue, making the violence feel more gratuitous than impactful.
Unlike the first film, Prithviraj the director also seems to struggle with managing the ensemble, including effectively utilising Mohanlal, who comes across more like an extended cameo in the film.
The standout, however, is the jungle fight sequence, which impactfully taps into Lalettan's mass appeal, making it the only scene worth remembering this film for.
4. Thudarum (2025)
Box Office Collection: Rs 235.38 crore
Mohanlal had a terrific year in 2025, delivering two back-to-back Rs 200 crore grossers. More importantly, the second of those films is significantly better than the first.
Tharun Moorthy's revenge drama places the Malayalam superstar in top form, backed by a more cohesive screenplay that, for the most part, handles its tonal shifts effectively.
After a breezy, light-hearted first act that establishes the family life of former stuntman-turned-cab driver 'Benz' Shanmugham, the film truly comes into its own in the middle portions, particularly after Shanmugham's car gets entangled in a police case.
This leads to the introduction of the antagonist, played by adman-turned-actor Prakash Varma with a perpetual grin on his face. His 'George sir' is among the most compelling negative characters in recent Malayalam cinema, significantly altering the film's trajectory and adding layers of intrigue around his motives and manipulation of Shanmugham.
Technically, Thudarum is impressive, with a special mention for Jakes Bejoy's stirring background score.
However, the film loses some of its grip once the revenge arc takes over. While the police station fight is well staged, the heavy-handed melodrama, especially in the brutality sequences, feels excessive. And casting Shobana without giving her enough to do is, frankly, a missed opportunity.
3. Lokah: Chapter One -- Chandra (2025)
Box Office Collection: Rs 303.86 crore
Dominic Arun's superhero outing made the entire country sit up and take notice. How could a film reportedly made on a Rs 30 crore budget look and feel more polished than several tentpole projects mounted at ten times the cost?
Even more encouraging is the fact that Malayalam cinema's biggest blockbuster is led by a female protagonist, a welcome sign of the industry's evolving landscape of gender-dynamics.
The first chapter of a planned five-film franchise, Lokah: Chapter One -- Chandra is an entertaining and technically proficient spectacle, peppered with Easter eggs and fun cameos.
Its blend of superhero tropes with Kerala folklore is particularly striking. Reimagining Kaliyankattu Neeli as a vampiric, immortal superhero is a bold and surprise choice, and while the role may not stretch Kalyani Priyadarshan performance-wise, she holds her own convincingly in the action sequences.
With solid support from Naslen and entertaining turns from Chandu Salim Kumar and Arun Kurian, Kalyani makes one helluva of a superhero who takes down organ traffickers and misogynistic cops (Sandy playing the antagonist) in quite the bloody manner.
While Minnal Murali still stands as the stronger superhero film from Malayalam cinema, Lokah: Chapter One -- Chandra leaves the door wide open for a far more expansive and imaginative universe. One that promises goblins, shapeshifters and other mythical beings coexisting among us.
2. Vaazha 2: Biopic of a Billion Bros (2026)
Box Office Collection: Rs 209* crore (Still in theatres)
Vaazha 2 is not only a superior sequel, especially when compared to the other sequel on this list, but also one of the most engaging slice-of-life entertainers in recent times.
A continuation of the 2024 coming-of-age film Vaazha, it follows the lives of four teenage friends -- Hashir, Alan, Vinayak and Ajin -- and how family pressures and school troubles push them into decisions they are not emotionally equipped to handle.
While the titular gang had been introduced in the previous film in supporting roles, the sequel reimagines them with a new setting and slightly altered personas. This does lead to some timeline discrepancies and character inconsistencies, but the soft reboot approach allows greater room for the protagonists to feel more endearing and relatable, without merely repeating what worked earlier.
The humour lands for the most part, but it is when the drama takes over that Vaazha 2 truly makes its mark, be it the school raid sequence before the interval or the emotionally charged third act.
The performances are uniformly strong, particularly from the four leads (who are influencers in real life), and the film also pays affectionate tribute to its predecessor through well-placed cameos, especially in the closing moments.
This one not only leaves you laughing and then in tears, but also makes you want to immediately call your sibling and reconnect. In a time when cinema often ends up dividing people, a film like Vaazha 2, which give importance to friendship and sibling love, deserves to be celebrated even more.
1. Manjummel Boys (2024)
Box Office Collection: Rs 241.03 crore
=
Chidambaram S Poduval's sophomore feature is a remarkable achievement that resonated across the country, particularly in Tamil Nadu.
Based on a real-life incident, the film is both a heartfelt ode to friendship and a gripping survival thriller, centred on a group of friends whose trip turns into a nightmare when one of them falls into the seemingly bottomless pit of the Guna Caves.
The film makes excellent use of its ensemble, though Soubin Shahir and Sreenath Bhasi get the most scope to shine.
While the first half breezes along on the group's camaraderie, the narrative shifts gears sharply once disaster strikes, compelling the seemingly carefree friends to unite as a single, desperate force in a high-stakes rescue. The film's ability to tighten its grip in these stretches, and never quite let go, is truly commendable.
From a technical aspect also, Manjummel Boys is outstanding; its cinematography, production design and editing are of a standard worthy of film school study.
Sushin Shyam's score is excellent, but it is the inspired use of Guna's iconic track Kanmani Anbodu Kadhalan that delivers the film's most powerful moment, particularly in the climax.
Come on, if you didn't start clapping at the moment when Kamal Haasan's dialogue, 'Manithar unarndhukolla ithu manitha kaadhal alla...' begins playing in the background, why are you even watching movies?
Box office figures sourced from Sacnilk.com
Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff
© 2026