Since Stree 2 was released on Aug 15, it has been making history at the box office, ultimately becoming the highest-grossing Hindi film of the year with a collection of more than Rs871 crore ($135 million).
But the Rajkummar Rao-starrer has failed to surpass Nag Ashwin’s Telugu film Kalki 2898 AD, which has grossed more than Rs1,054 crore in 2024.
However, none of these films are the most profitable ventures in Indian cinema this year. A short Malayalam film with a Rs3 crore budget has outshone them in terms of profitability.
Premalu, which features newcomers, has earned Rs136 crore, delivering an impressive 4,500 per cent profit, reported indiatimes.com.
The only film that comes close to it is the Telugu superhero film HanuMan, which has earned Rs350 crore with a budget of Rs35 crore.
Kalki, made with a Rs600 crore budget, has earned a profit of less than 100 per cent, while Stree 2, made with Rs60 crore, has recorded a profit of around 850 per cent.
Malayalam cinema has had a golden year with critically acclaimed and commercially successful films such as Manjummel Boys and Aavesham.
Premalu, a new-age romantic drama, is directed by Girish and stars Naslen K. Gafoor and Mamitha Baiju.
It was released in February across multiple platforms. In April, it premiered on Disney + Hotstar in Malayalam, Hindi and Tamil, while the Telugu version was available on Aha.
While the plot is somewhat generic, the film manages to make a good impression thanks to its lovable characters and silly humour.
Both its lead actors delivered solid performances, along with the supporting cast of Sangeeth Prathap, Shyam Mohan, Meenakshi Raveendran, Akhila Bhargavan, Mathew Thomas and Althaf Salim.
