'L2: Empuraan': What to expect from Mohanlal-Prithviraj's film
What's the story
The upcoming Malayalam flick L2: Empuraan, helmed by Prithviraj Sukumaran and featuring Mohanlal, has broken new records in advance bookings.
The film sold more than 6.45 lakh tickets on BookMyShow within 24 hours of opening, eclipsing the previous record of Kalki 2898 AD (341.78K). It also bagged the highest presales at the Kerala box office.
As of Sunday afternoon, the film's first-day advance booking gross stood at ₹8.42 crore across India, Sacnilk reported.
Here's all to know about the movie.
Production partnership
'Empuraan' overcame production dispute to secure release
Despite uncertainty over its release owing to the internal fight between co-producers Aashirvad Cinemas and Lyca Productions, L2: Empuraan will finally grace the screens on Thursday.
The controversy created a temporary lull with no promotions or updates, but everything changed after Sree Gokulam Movies joined hands as a production partner.
Industry tracker Sreedhar Pillai said the controversy has only helped it get a stronger opening.
Market competition
'Empuraan' faces competition but has strong distribution
Empuraan will also have to compete with Vikram's Veera Dheera Sooran and Salman Khan's Sikandar, which also target the same weekend.
But Pillai stressed the film has a strong chance with leading distributors releasing it across key markets.
He specifically noted its Hindi belt release handled by AA Films, the same distributor behind the Pushpa movies.
However, the buzz around Sikandar is also solid.
Presale strength
'Empuraan' presales are strong, but quality will determine success
Industry analyst Ramesh Bala observed that Empuraan's advance bookings have been phenomenal, especially overseas. However, he said the movie's actual fate will be determined by its quality and audience response to the first shows.
Another industry tracker AB George pointed to Mohanlal's star power as the main reason behind the film recovering its mammoth investment.
Despite the budget, trends show Mohanlal's clout among Malayalees is already doing the trick.
Financial impact
Lyca Productions's financial challenges affected 'Empuraan's pre-release promotions
Lyca Productions's financial woes have impacted Empuraun's pre-release promotions and other arrangements.
Bala elaborated that some recent films didn't do well, resulting in financial problems.
"Lyca invested around ₹75 crore in the film and had planned to recover this amount before release through satellite and OTT rights. However, since these sales haven't been finalized yet, they haven't recouped their investment and, consequently, haven't been able to allocate more funds," he added.