Mohanlal and Prithviraj starrer, 'Empuraan' has broken the record for the biggest Malayalam opener with its grand box-office debut. Read to find out what the audience thought about the film.
L2: Empuraan is currently screening in theatres across India. The film is the second instalment in the trilogy action thriller film, Lucifer. The film was announced in June 2019 after the success of the prequel film and was originally planned for mid-2020. However, it faced delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Empuraan is off to a stellar start. The Mohanlal and Prithviraj Sukumaran starrer was released on March 27, 2025, and has already created history. The L2: Empuraan, on its first day of release, managed to bag a massive sum of Rs. 22 crore net across the country. This made the film the biggest Malayalam opener in the history of the film industry. As per a report by the industry tracker, Sacnilk, the film made around Rs. 19 crore in Malayalam.
While talking about the other languages in which the film was released, the report stated that it made Rs. 1.2 crore in Telugu, Rs. 80 lakh in Tamil, Rs. 50 lakh in Hindi and a small Rs. 5 lakh in Kannada. Empuraan ran with a 43 per cent occupancy in Bengaluru, with over 800 shows in the city alone. The film had 350 shows in both Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram. While the occupancy in Kochi was recorded to be close to 97 per cent, Thiruvananthapuram observed an audience of around 85 per cent.
Prior to the release of Empuraan, the biggest Malayalam opener was also by Prithviraj. The film was his 2024 release, Aadujeevitham: The Goat Life. The film opened at a massive Rs 7.6 crore net in India. Prithviraj managed to break his own record with a staggering Rs. 14.4 crores difference. The third spot is currently secured by Mohanlal’s Marakkar Lion of the Arabian Sea. The film made Rs. 6.8 crore on its opening day. The opening numbers of Empuraan are unprecedented in Malayalam cinema, and it is only expected to go up from here.
This year has been a little slow for the Malayalam film industry. There have been only two Malayalam films that have managed to grab some attention at the box office. One of the films is Asif Ali's Rekhachitram, which made Rs. 26 crore net during its run, and Kunchacko Boban-starrer Officer on Duty. The film collected Rs. 31 crore nett in its lifetime collection. Now, Empuraan is expected to overtake the lifetime collections of these films in just two days and bring a fresh wave of change to the industry as well.
Empuraan clashed with Salman Khan's Sikandar at the box office. While two big names clashing can never sound good, in an interview with News18, Salman reacted to the box office clash and said that he was sure that the Prithviraj directorial would be an excellent film. He stated that he loves Mohanlal, and with Prithviraj directing the film, he has no doubts about its success. He was quoted as saying:
"I love Mohanlal sir as an actor. Prithviraj is directing it, and I know that it’s going to be an excellent film."
The box-office numbers of the film are a testament to what the audience thought of the film. Netizens also shared their candid views on X. A user wrote, "Well-paced stylish entertainer with fanboy moments. The storyline is baked in drama, politics, and current affairs. Bang on entry for Mohanlal after an hour with peak commercial elevation. Hollywood-level visuals & stunts." A comment read, "Empuraan Good One. Lal Saab’s intro and jungle fight scene were peak cinematic experiences." Another penned:
"#Empuraan. Second Half >>>> First Half. #Mohanlal Outshines everyone in the second half... This Jungle Poli scene is Worth the money...Climax fight....What #Tovino got from 1st Part, here #ManjuWarrier gets it...8/10"
What are your thoughts on Empuraan's massive box-office collection?
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