L2 Empuraan is highest-grossing Malayalam film globally but still lags behind this Malayalam film in India that earned Rs...

Headlined by Mohanlal and helmed by Prithviraj Sukumaran, the action thriller L2: Empuraan or Empuraan - Lucifer 2 broke several box office records upon its release on March 27. Firstly, it scored the biggest global opening of Rs 67 crore in Malayalam cinema, then became the first Malayalam film to earn Rs 100 crore at the overseas box office, and finally, the movie also became the highest-grossing Malayalam film globally as it became the first Malayalam film to breach the Rs 250-crore mark worldwide. The 2025 release created all these records within ten days; but the Lucifer sequel is not the highest-grossing Malayalam movie in India. This record is held by the 2024 survival thriller Manjummel Boys.

Written and directed by Chidambaram, Manjummel Boys is based on a true story of 11 friends from the titular town in Kerala, who embarked on a trip to Kodaikanal in Tamil Nadu, and found themselves in a life-or-death situation when one of them fell into the Guna Caves. The incident, that happened in 2006, served as the basis of the 2024 film. It became the first Malayalam film to earn Rs 200 crore worldwide. At the end of its theatrical run of 70 days, Manjummel Boys earned Rs 141 crore net and Rs 167 crore gross in India and minted Rs 240 crore globally with the overseas collection of Rs 73 crore.

On the other hand, L2: Empuraan, the sequel to the 2019 superhit Lucifer and the second installment in the planned Lucifer trilogy, has collected Rs 103 crore net and Rs 120 crore gross in India, and earned Rs 262.75 crore globally with the overseas collections of Rs 142 crore in the first 16 days till now. We would have to wait and see if the Prithviraj Sukumaran directorial would be able to cross the Chidambaran film in its domestic earnings.

One of the reasons why Empuraan has failed to replicate its overseas collections in India is the huge political backlash it faced in the nation over its subtle references to the 2002 Gujarat riots with the Hindutva organisations in Kerala calling for its boycott. After the massive uproar, Mohanlal shared a statement saying that the Empuraan team regrets hurting the sentiments of the people, and the producers voluntarity re-censored the film with 24 cuts. But even after this controversy, the Lucifer sequel has created such enormous records that would be difficult for any other Malayalam film to achieve. The only other film that could break Empuraan records in Malayalam cinema would be the third film in the Lucifer trilogy - L3: The Beginning.

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