Tovino Thomas’s Malayalam film 2018 shows EXCELLENT trend at the box office; ECSTATIC producer Venu Kunnapally shares, “When it comes to regional films, 40,000-50,000 people watch a movie in cinemas in the first three days. Our film has already been seen by 1,70,000 viewers”

By Fenil Seta -

May 11, 2023 - 3:48 PM IST

Last Friday saw the release of The Kerala Story which has set the box office on fire. Interestingly, another film with a Kerala connection has also emerged as a surprise. 2018, the Malayalam film, which was released in cinemas on May 5, is unstoppable. As per reports, it collected Rs. 1.85 crores on Friday after which the collections jumped to Rs. 3.20 crores on Saturday. The Sunday collections were Rs. 4.13 crores. Interestingly, it collected Rs. 3.90 crores on Monday and if reports are to be believed, then its Tuesday collections will be in the range of Rs. 23-25 crores. As a result, it is already on its way to becoming one of the highest grossers in Kerala.

Tovino Thomas’s Malayalam film 2018 shows EXCELLENT trend at the box office; ECSTATIC producer Venu Kunnapally shares, “When it comes to regional films, 40,000-50,000 people watch a movie in cinemas in the first three days. Our film has already been seen by 1,70,000 viewers”

2018’s producer Venu Kunnapally, who was recently in Mumbai along with the film’s actors Tovino Thomas, Asif Ali, Tanvi Ram and director Jude Anthany Joseph, talked about its box office success and a lot more. He said, “When the shooting and post-production were going on, I didn’t expect something like this. I anticipated that it’ll do good business on OTT and satellite and respectable business in Kerala. Before 2018’s release almost 75 Malayalam films were released in 2023 out of which only 1 film succeeded. Some of the films were very good”

Venu Kunnapally then shared fascinating trivia, “Two weeks before, I saw the movie after the mixing and VFX work and it made me believe that it’ll work big time in cinemas. Not just in Kerala, but even outside and in places in U.A.E/G.C.C, it is running successfully. When it comes to regional films, 40,000-50,000 people watch a movie in cinemas in the first three days. Our film has already been seen by 1,70,000 viewers.”

As expected, the audience broke into applause after hearing this information. Tovino Thomas, in a lighter vein, remarked, “This is our Hombale Films,” referring to the Karnataka-based production house which delivered hits like KGF – Chapter 2 and Kantara last year. On a serious note, he applauded Venu Kunnapally and said, “This is not an easy film for a director to convince a producer.”

Venu Kunnapally stated, “I don’t want to give out the figure but the costs went up by 50%. Still, I never complained about it to Jude Anthany Joseph. Or even to the art director. He’s the man responsible for the increase in budget (laughs)! Art expenses doubled as it increased by 100%. But he was doing a good job. So, I cannot say anything. At times, I would message Jude.”

Tovino Thomas stepped in at this point and laughed, “And Jude would go and show the scene to the producer. Then the producer would have no choice but to say ‘Alright, (go spend)’.”

2018, reportedly, has earned Rs. 17 crores gross in U.A.E/G.C.C. As the name suggests, the thriller is set against the backdrop of the 2018 Kerala Floods.

Also Read: Tovino Thomas confirms Minal Murrali 2 release ONLY in theatres; says, “I want Netflix to acquire its OTT rights”