Summer 2026 in Mollywood: Big hits & unexpected disappointments

Malayalam cinema’s Summer 2026 had a bit of everything — sequels that struck gold, surprise hits that exceeded expectations and one of the year’s most anticipated films falling short at the box office.

More than anything else, however, the season underscored the enduring power of familiar franchises.Drishyam 3 emerged as a major winner, grossing `236 crore worldwide. Vaazha II, Aadu 3, Athiradi and Bharathanatyam 2 Mohiniyattam also found favour with audiences. Patriot, which reunited the industry’s two big Ms after a long gap, failed to create the expected wave, as did Tovino Thomas-starrer Pallichattambi.The Vaazha II surpriseApart from Drishyam 3, the season’s biggest success story was undoubtedly Vaazha II, which had a worldwide collection of `235 crore. Executive producer PS Sreenath admits the team was initially unsure about releasing the film on April 2 because of the elections. “In fact, I wasn’t very keen on that date. The media, including film-promotion platforms, was focused on the elections. It was definitely a risk as a producer, but eventually it paid off.

The absence of major releases in the following weeks gave us the space to take the film to more audiences,” he says.Interestingly, the makers never specifically planned a summer release. “We first considered January and then February, but the film wasn’t ready. We don’t hold back a completed film just to target a holiday window because there is significant investment involved and returns need to start coming in quickly,” he explains.

A summer of strong footfallsTrade observers describe this March-May period as one of the strongest summers Malayalam cinema has witnessed since the pandemic, driven by a string of successful releases and healthy footfalls.“Following blockbuster summers in 2024 and 2025, expectations were high and the industry largely delivered. Major successes such as Drishyam 3, Vaazha II and Aadu 3 reaffirmed audience confidence in Malayalam content and highlighted the growing scale of our theatrical market,” says Shyam Kurup, representing a distribution firm.Jacob BR, president of the Film Exhibitors United Organisation of Kerala, calls the vacation period “almost a golden phase”. “Business was good, beginning with Aadu 3. However, it mainly offsets the slump of the rest of the year. We have challenges such as double taxation and rising operational costs,” he points out. Kerala Film Chamber of Commerce president Anil Thomas believes the momentum is likely to continue.

“This was our best summer since COVID. We had back-to-back hits and better footfalls. Malayalam cinema also has several big-ticket releases lined up,” he says.Saiju Kurup, lead actor and producer of Mohinyattam, says, “We did plan for a summer release. We had a lot of faith in the film. Our only concern was getting people to the theatre for our ‘so-called small film’. I felt, because it was the holidays, a few would come and then that would multiply.

In fact, our 137 centres became 200+ by the third week."

A summer of sequelsIf there was one defining trend of Summer 2026, it was the dominance of franchise films.“The biggest successes of the season were all sequels,” notes Shyam. “Franchises provide continuity and reduce risk. Malayalam cinema has proven it can build successful franchises. The next challenge is to create original stories and characters that can become the next generation of major theatrical brands,” he shares.Anil believes audiences naturally place greater trust in familiar titles. “People have more confidence in films that carry an established brand. Even in the case of Mohiniyattam, its original, Bharathanatyam, had already built an audience through OTT.”Saiju Kurup says, “Pre-release promotions, more than the prequel effect played a role. It reached a lot of people through social media and I should also credit the trailer cut. All these factors played a role.”