2024 was not a successful year for Mohanlal, as both Malaikottai Vaaliban and Barroz 3D failed to leave a lasting impression. The star, who started his career with the 1980 movie Manjil Virinja Pookkal and has had many highs and lows throughout the past 45 years, is no stranger to failures. There were doubts about whether the much-loved 'lalettan' (big brother) was becoming out of sync. What was his response to the detractors? Making ₹500 crore for Mollywood on his own in 2025.

In what way did Mohanlal fare in 2024?

According to Sacnilk, Mohanlal's 2024 was lackluster, with Malaikottai Vaaliban and Barroz 3D earning ₹29.75 crore and ₹15.1 crore, respectively, at the global box office. Given that both movies were made on a larger scale, these figures indicated problems, even if they were acceptable for Malayalam films produced on modest budgets. The former film, in particular, was marketed as a game changer, but it was ultimately criticized for its subpar computer-generated imagery, while the latter film did not have the widespread appeal that was anticipated.

In 2025, Mollywood is dominated by Mohanlal

2025 was the year after that. The best-selling Malayalam film ever is now L2 Empuraan, which was published in March of this year. With a haul of ₹265.5 crore, it also became the second-highest-grossing Indian movie of 2025. Malayalam movies rarely see figures like this. Thudarum, his next film, was released in April and is the fourth-highest-grossing Indian film of the year. It made over $234.5 billion worldwide, coming very close to L2 Empuraan. The combined box office revenue for these films is more than ₹5 billion. Additionally, this excludes the ₹1.05 crore earned over two days from the re-release of his 2007 movie Chotta Mumbai..

Work on the horizon

While the film industry has always valued Mollywood for its compelling, compassionate, and intelligent narratives, it has never been able to generate significant revenue until now. The family drama Hridayapoorvam, which will be released on August 28, and the epic action drama Vrusshabha, which will be released on October 16, are both included in Mohanlal's upcoming slate. With Mohanlal, Mammootty, and Fahadh Faasil in one movie, Mollywood is also developing a juggernaut that might be the next big thing to come out of Kerala.