Even as Stree 2 is scripting history at the box office, the Rajkummar Rao and Shraddha Kapoor-starrer has become the highest-grossing Hindi film of the year. If there is one movie whose record it may not be able to break, that is Nag Ashwin’s Kalki 2898 AD, the only Indian film to gross over Rs 1000 crore this year. And yet, neither of these two films are the most profitable ventures from Indian cinema this year. There, a tiny Rs 3-crore film has them beat.
India’s biggest hit film of 2024
Before it got embroiled in a belated wave of #MeToo movement, Malayalam cinema was having a golden run in 2024 with critically acclaimed and commercially successful films. Several films such as Manjummel Boys and Aavesham not only wowed the fans but also impressed the critics. Among them is a small coming-of-age romantic drama called Premalu. Featuring just newcomers, Premalu was made on a budget of just Rs 3 crore and earned Rs 136 crore, returning a massive profit of 4500%.
How Premalu beat Stree 2, Kalki 2898 AD, HanuMan
Kalki 2898 AD remains the highest-grossing Indian film this year with a worldwide gross of over Rs 1100 crore. But due to its Rs 600-crore budget, it’s profit is less than 100%. Stree 2, with its lower budget (Rs 60 crore), has a higher profit (around 850% due to its Rs 570 crore worldwide gross), but it still pales in comparison to what Premalu has achieved. The only film that comes anywhere close to the Malayalam hit is the Telugu superhero flick HanuMan, which earned Rs 350 crore on a Rs 35-crore budget (around 900% profit).
All about Premalu
Directed by Girish AD, Premalu stars Naslen K. Gafoor and Mamitha Baiju, alongside Sangeeth Prathap, Shyam Mohan, Meenakshi Raveendran, Akhila Bhargavan, Mathew Thomas and Althaf Salim. The film released in February to universal critical acclaim. Premalu released in Malayalam, Hindi, and Tamil on Disney+ Hotstar and in Telugu on Aha in April.
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 "A still from India's biggest hit of 2024")
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