Of the 58 releases so far in 2016, only seven films managed to make profits in the Malayalam cinema. A few others scraped through, thanks to the satellite revenue and at times, low production costs.
Two Countries and Charlie that released towards the end of last year set the cash registers ringing in the beginning of this year as well.
Here's taking a look at the Malayalam films that fared well in the first half of 2016.
Action Hero Biju
Abrid Shine, who made a fabulous debut with 1983, narrated what actually happens inside a police station with Action Hero Biju.
Nivin Pauly’s role as Sub Inspector Biju Poulose opened average but went on to have a steady run at the cash windows.
Maheshinte Prathikaram
Dileesh Pothen’s Maheshinte Prathikaram is perhaps one of the finest films made in Malayalam in the recent years.
Fahadh Faasil made a spectacular comeback to his winning ways with this one.
Jacobinte Swargarajyam
Nivin Pauly continued his dream run at the box office, this time with mentor Vineeth Sreenivasan’s Jacobinte Swargarajyam.
The story of a Dubai-based Malayali family going through a crisis was inspired from a real-life incident.
King Liar
Dileep managed to pull in crowd to the theatres with scenarist Siddique and director Lal’s King Liar though this comedy was nowhere near their old gems.
As the younger crop of heroes continued to dominate the box office, only Dileep made a difference with consecutive hits, compared to his peers from the senior gang.
Paavada
After a fabulous last year, Prithviraj scored just one hit with G Marthandan’s Paavada in 2016. His other two films -- Darvinte Parinamam and James & Alice -- were disappointing.
Paavada set the cash registers ringing and the hero’s avatar as a drunk was well appreciated.
Kali
Dulquer Salmaan continued experimenting with a variety of roles and Sameer Thahir’s Kali had him playing a husband trying to manage his anger issues.
Premam fame Sai Pallavi impressed in her role as his wife. Later, Dulquer continued his good form in Rajeev Ravi’s Kammatipaadam.
Happy Wedding
The real surprise hit this time was Omar’s Happy Wedding.
With the Premam team of Siju Wilson, Sharafuddeen and Soubin Shahir in the lead, this comedy went on to rake in a lot of moolah.
