2016 was a spectacular year for the Malayalam entertainment industry, with many movies emerging as blockbusters. Two films starring Mohanlal — Pulimurugan and Oppam — even became the top grossers in Mollywood of all time.
Here are the highest grossing Malayalam movies of 2016:
Action Hero Biju
Nivin Pauly's realistic entertainer Action Hero Biju became the first blockbuster of 2016. The Abrid Shine-directed film, which narrated day-to-day incidents at a Janamaithri police station in Kerala, opened to a tremendous response from the audience. The blockbuster movie was screened for more than 100 days in the state, and is believed to have earned approximately Rs. 16.65 crore gross collection from Kerala. Read review here
Maheshinte Prathikaaram
Fahahdh Faasil was well appreciated for portraying the role of photographer Mahesh in the family entertainer Maheshinte Prathikaram. The film also stars Aparna Balamurali, Soubin Shahir, Alencier Ley, Lijomol Jose and Anusree in significant roles. After running successfully for over 100 days, the Dileesh Pothan-directed Maheshinte Prathikaram is said to have collected a gross amount of Rs. 17.35 crore at the Kerala box office alone. Read review here
Kali
Kali was one of the awaited movies in 2016, thanks to the huge fan following enjoyed by Dulquer Salmaan and Sai Pallavi of Premam fame. The thriller, helmed by Sameer Thahir, received positive reviews from viewers and is estimated to have made approximately Rs 16.40 crore from the Kerala box office. Read review here
Jacobinte Swargarajyam
Actor-singer-director Vineeth Sreenivasan's family entertainer emerged as the winner of Kerala box office during the first half of 2016. The movie, which was released in April, completed 100 days of theatrical run, and earned Rs 18.90 crore within 35 days of its release in Kerala. Read review here
Kammatipaadam
Dulquer Salmaan's Kammatipaadam had its share of controversies even before its release in Kerala, with the movie bagging the 'A' certificate after the censor board deleted certain scenes, calling it a lengthy film. Upon its release, the Rajeev Ravi-directed film received a good response from the audience, although some viewers were not that generous with their praise. Nevertheless, it performed well at the Kerala box office, and is said to have made a total gross collection of Rs 15.10 crore. Read review here
Kasaba
While Mammootty's action thriller Kasaba got tremendous support from the megastar's fans, many also criticised the makers and actors for the film's misogynistic stance. However, it became the biggest Eid release in 2016 and made Rs. 14.37 crore within a month. Read review here
Anuraga Karikkin Vellam
Asif Ali, Biju Menon, Rajisha Vijayan and Asha Sarath's family entertainer Anuraga Karikkin Vellam opened to a warm response from viewers. The Khalid Rahman-directed film made a good box office collection and is estimated to have earned Rs. 1.27 crore within 26 days of its theatrical run in the multiplexes in Kochi alone. Read review here
Pretham
The horror comedy entertainer became the first solo blockbuster of Jayasurya in his acting career. Helmed by Ranjith Sankar, the film earned a gross collection of Rs. 12.45 crore within 23 days of its release in Kerala. The team celebrated its 75 days of success in Kochi recently, and the event was attended by the cast and crew of the movie, including Aju Varghese, Sharafudheen and Govind Padmasoorya. Read review here
Oozham
After Memories, Prithviraj Sukumaran and Jeethu Joseph came together for Oozham. The revenge thriller got a positive response from the audience and did an approximate business of Rs 15.25 crore within 25 days of theatrical run in the state. The movie also stars Divya Pillai, Neeraj Madhav, Rasna Pavitran, Balachandra Menon and Seetha in significant roles. Read review here
Oppam
Oppam, the first direct Mollywood release of Mohanlal in 2016, is the second biggest grosser in Malayalam till date. The crime thriller, directed by Priyadarshan, marked the comeback of the actor-director duo and opened to tremendous audience reviews. The earnings of the movie are believed to have crossed more than Rs 42 crore. Read review here
Pulimurugan
Directed by Vysakh, Pulimurugan has become the biggest grosser in Malayalam, and is the first Mollywood film to enter the Rs 100 crore club. The Mohanlal-starrer opened to a stupendous response from the audience for its unique stunt sequences and performances. The film made a gross collection of over Rs 80 crore in Kerala alone, raking in a total of Rs 131.26 crore from worldwide box office. Read review here
Thoppil Joppan
The comedy entertainer starring megastar Mammootty locked horns with Mohanlal's Pulimurugan. It received good reviews from the audience. The Johny Antony-directed film, which stars Mamta Mohandas and Andrea Jeremiah in the female lead roles, narrates the story of Joppan, who becomes an alcohol addict after losing his love. It is believed to have done a business of over Rs 22 crore from worldwide box office. Read review here
Aanandam
Aanandam, starring seven newcomers in the lead roles, has been making waves all over for being a good campus entertainer in the recent times. The Ganesh Raj-directed film is narrated against the backdrop of a four-day trip of a batch of students and gained fabulous audience response. Read review here
Kattappanayile Rithwik Roshan
The second directorial venture of Nadhirshah, Kattappanayile Rithwik Roshan (also spelled Kattappanayile Hrithik Roshan) is a comedy entertainer that tells the story of an aspiring actor from a village in Kerala. The movie, starring scriptwriter Vishnu Unnikrishnan in the lead role, has been gaining good support from the audience despite being a simple entertainer. The movie marks the comeback of Salim Kumar in a strong comedy role and is said to have collected more than Rs 14 crore from Kerala box office and a total of Rs 24 crore from theatres worldwide.
