Mammootty reveals The Great Father is fastest Malayalam movie to cross Rs 20 crore; but is the figure exaggerated?

Mammootty's The Great Father has been setting new records from day one at the Kerala box office, and is performing well worldwide, thanks to the immense popularity of the megastar, who is the highlight of the Haneef Adeni directorial.

Also read: The Great Father movie review

After becoming the biggest opening day grosser by surpassing the record of Mohanlal's Pulimurugan, the family action thriller, made on a budget of Rs 6 crore, has become the fastest Malayalam movie to enter Rs 20 crore club, as revealed by none other than Mammootty via his Facebook page.

I want to thank each and every one of you in making the Great Father such a huge success! It's broken the first day opening collection record, the fastest 20 crores collection to date and all of this with a relatively modest 6 crores budget and made by a first time director. This is a celebration and an eye opener to the size and power of the Malayalam audience like no other ! Here is wishing for our industry to continue growing bigger and better so we can make even better and bolder films!!

But is this the actual collection figure?

The Great Father might have made tremendous box office collection, what with its record number of special fan shows across Kerala on the opening day, and other centres, including Australia, the next day. The movie was released in over 200 screens in Kerala alone and almost 140 centres outside the state. However, few netizens are of the opinion that it is just an exaggerated figure, to show the film has broken the records set by Mohanlal's blockbuster action thriller, which has emerged as the first Malayalam movie to enter Rs 100 crore club, and later the Rs 150 crore club. 

"I strongly feel Rs 20 crore is an exaggerated collection amount of The Great Father. Of course, the movie has been opened to positive response from the fans of Mammootty, but the way the makers are trying to show that the film has crossed the records of Pulimurugan makes it doubtful," a trade analyst, who wishes to remain anonymous told IBTimes.

"Considering the ticket prices in Kerala and the screen count, which is less than many other big budget other language movies, it is unlikely for The Great Father to earn Rs 20 crore during the opening week. I think Pulimurugan had only earned Rs 13 crore in three days. So, I strongly believe the figure is inflated," another industry tracker states.

It has to be noted that Pulimurugan had earned a gross collection of Rs 4.08 crore on its first day of theatrical run from Kerala alone, while Prithviraj Sukumaran, one of the producers of The Great Father, had revealed that the Mammootty-starrer has minted Rs 4.31 crore on first day at the Kerala box office. 

Now, the team of Mohanlal's upcoming movie 1971 Beyond Borders is gearing up to beat the records of The Great Father with the Major Ravi directorial set to release in over 200 theatres across the state.