When the lights dimmed on New Year’s Day 2024, even the most optimistic trade gurus did not expect just how vociferously Malayalam cinema was about to storm. By December, the industry had rewritten nearly every metric that counts—box-office records, critical reach, even classroom syllabi—yet remained true to the one value that made it great in the first place: story first, spectacle second. Here’s why 2024 will be remembered as a landmark year for Kerala’s dream factory.
A Box-Office Boom No One Saw Coming
For years, the mythic “₹100-crore club” seemed an out-of-reach peak for Mollywood. In 2024 it was packed property. Manjummel Boys set it off, blitzing past ₹241 crore globally, the largest Malayalam gross ever at the time.
Following close on the heels were Aadujeevitham (The Goat Life) at ₹158 crore, Fahadh Faasil’s Aavesham riot at ₹156 crore, and the romantic comedy sleeper hit Premalu, ending the year with ₹136 crore.
The outcome? A theatrical-revenue increase of about 40–50 percent from 2023, declares actor-producer Fahadh Faasil, who hailed the boost as “a huge surprise factor for the trade.” These figures didn’t only shattered records; they annihilated the outmoded belief that Malayalam films were “niche” earners.
Genre Roulette—and Every Spin Paid Off
The audience was spoiled for choice. Survival drama (Aadujeevitham), college-campus romance (Premalu), gangster comedy (Aavesham), and black-and-white folk horror (Bramayugam) all raked in full houses—testimony to variety, rather than formula, driving repeat traffic.
Bramayugam warrants a special mention. Filmed on black-and-white alone and fronted by Mammootty, it was declared the moment “Malayalam horror reached its peak,” with critics hailing its mood and sound design.
The craftsmanship of the film impressed scholars so much that a UK film school used it as a case study on sound design—a first academic recognition for a regional Indian film. Meanwhile, Jithu Madhavan’s Aavesham proved that a full-throttle mass entertainer could still feel fresh if anchored by eccentric characters and whip-smart editing. If 2024 taught us anything, it’s that Malayalam filmmakers no longer pick a lane—they build new roads.
From Thiruvananthapuram to Times Square: The Global Footprint
Box-office achievements were reflected in geographic ones. Aadujeevitham opened day-and-date in five languages in the Gulf, Europe, and North America, tapping into the Malayali diaspora that has long been waiting for same-day availability.
Manjummel Boys became a word-of-mouth rocket in Singapore and Australia, while Aavesham entered the Top-5 UK Asian cinema chart in its first weekend of release.
Streaming behemoths noticed. By halfway through the year, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ Hotstar had acquired post-theatrical deals for each of the ₹100-crore quartet of films, getting subtitles—and dubbed sound—within a month of theatrical runs. What Telugu and Tamil films accomplished after ten years of gradual exports, Malayalam cinema managed in twelve dizzying months.
Talent Pipelines Went Both Ways
Industry’s banner year wasn’t merely about dollars; it was about brains. New-gen directors like Chidambaram (Manjummel Boys) and Girish A.D. (Premalu) showed they could stand their ground alongside veterans like Blessy (Aadujeevitham) and Rahul Sadasivan (Bramayugam). Old-timers (Mammootty, Prithviraj) took marquee billing alongside Gen-Z faces (Naslen, Mamitha Baiju), giving the entire ecosystem of cross-generational action that other Indian industries could hardly rival.
Even Bollywood came knocking: three Hindi remakes were approved in advance of the Onam season, which is a talent reverse-migration in the making since Drishyam. Film schools from Pune to Prague asked Malayalam scripts to translate into labs, praising their lean narrative structures. The message was obvious: if you wish to teach economical storytelling, head south-west.
A Cultural Moment Bigger Than the Screen
Last but not least, 2024 was different because the movies seeped into discussion far beyond movie theaters. WhatsApp groups overflowed with memes of Fahadh Faasil’s dynamic “Ranga” attitude; college debates dissected the migrant-labour politics of Aadujeevitham; election-season opinion-pieces cited Bramayugam’s allegory of power and fear. When films ignite debate in kitchens and campuses as well, you know an industry has moved from entertainment to ethos.
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The Road Ahead
By December 31, analysts were already speculating: Was 2024 an aberration? Early 2025 said no way—Mohanlal’s L2: Empuraan overtook Manjummel Boys‘ record in nine days.
From not quite reaching a peak, Malayalam cinema appears to have tapped into renewable energy: brave writers, flexible budgets, and a people conditioned to anticipate surprise.
If the rest of India is seeking a model for sustainable development without innovative compromise, it could do no worse than learn from the class of 2024. It wasn’t merely a fine year for Malayalam cinema; it was evidence that quality, when cultivated, multiplies. And in an age of content saturation, that is a lesson that may be the most precious export of all.
Writer – Subham Choudhary