Thudarum Final Advance Booking: Mohanlal’s Crime Drama Shatters Kerala Pre-Sales with Rs 2.33 Crore

Thudarum Sets New Bar for Kerala Advance Booking

When you talk about Malayalam cinema records, classics led by Mohanlal almost always end up in the conversation. But with Thudarum, even seasoned industry watchers were surprised by the scale of its opening. The crime drama not only pulled in a staggering Rs 2.33 crore from advance bookings—spanning 1,186 shows—but also managed this remarkable feat with hardly any of the marketing blitz that bigger productions usually rely on. Only L2 Empuraan has clocked higher pre-sales for Malayalam films in 2025.

So, what’s fueling this craze? At the core of Thudarum is a humble story with deep emotional roots. The film, helmed by director Tharun Moorthy, casts Mohanlal as Shanmughan, a taxi driver in the scenic hills of Ranni, Pathanamthitta. There’s no glossy action extravaganza here—just the heart-tugging bond between a man and his aging Ambassador car, and the family struggles that go along with it. Pairing the universally loved Mohanlal with the elegant Shobana, the film banks heavily on old-school star power and sentiment.

BookMyShow Records, Box Office Start, and Minimal Hype

The pre-release numbers for Thudarum didn’t just trickle in—they burst out of the gate. The film crossed the Rs 1 crore mark in bookings within just a few hours of opening advance sales. On BookMyShow, Kerala’s most-used ticketing platform, it sold a mind-blowing 4.28 lakh tickets in a single day, easily beating the fourth-day sales record of Empuraan. For context, those are numbers usually reserved for blockbuster franchises, not ‘family padams’ with a reputation for being mellow and understated.

And while Thudarum was caught in a web of delays—initially scheduled for January 30, then finally released on April 25, 2025—it lost none of its steam. By Friday afternoon on opening day, the film had already grossed Rs 67 lakh at the Kerala box office. Moviegoers packed into multiplexes and local theatres alike, drawn in by both curiosity and affection for Mohanlal’s nuanced screen presence.

The ensemble brings together familiar faces—Farhaan Faasil, Maniyanpilla Raju, and Aarsha Chandini Baiju, with a score by Jakes Bejoy that keeps the tone intimate and grounded. Thudarum’s success proves you don’t always need high-voltage promotions or big action set-pieces if you have powerful storytelling and a team audiences trust.

Whether this incredible advance booking and opening turnout translates into a blockbuster run is something everyone’s watching closely. But for now, Thudarum has already muscled its way into the record books, reminding the industry that Malayalam audiences still turn out in force for emotionally rich, character-driven tales—especially when their beloved stars are at the wheel.