Dulquer Salmaan’s action thriller I’m Game has exited the Onam box office race, shifting its release from August 20 to September 3. Dulquer, who stars in and produces the film, said the delay allows a wider theatrical rollout across India and beyond, with simultaneous releases in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Hindi and Kannada, giving the project the scale and reach it deserves.
Superstar Dulquer Salmaan, who is both the leading actor as well as producer of upcoming Malayalam film I’m Game, announced that his film will not release on the originally planned date of August 20.
Following recent chatter on social media about the film's release possibly being pushed, Dulquer took to social media to share the official update. He announced that the new release of the film would be September 3, a date two weeks post the original release schedule.
The official announcement read, "The game gets bigger. The release gets wider. We understand the anticipation and we apologise for the delay but #ImGame will now release worldwide on 3rd September, moving from its earlier release date of 20th August."
He added, “The new release date comes with a larger vision for the film. As #ImGame gears up for a wider theatrical release across markets. The film will now release simultaneously in multiple languages—Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Hindi and Kannada, taking the experience to audiences across the country and beyond.” He added that the decision to push the release was made to give the film, “the scale, reach and theatrical platform it truly deserves.”
The story of I'm Game is written by director Nahas Hidayath, with Bilal Moidu, Ismail Aboobacker and Sajeer Baba working on the screenplay. Dialogues are by Shahabas Rasheed and Adarsh Sukumaran. Cinematographer Jimshi Khalid, music director Jakes Bejoy, editor Chaman Chakko, and action choreographers Anbariv form the remaining core crew.
The film marks Dulquer's comeback to a leading role in Malayalam after his 2023 crime drama, King of Kotha, which received mixed reviews. He was seen in a cameo in Lokah Chapter One: Chandra (2025), which he also produced. This film went on to become the biggest ever hit of Malayalam cinema.
On X, the news of I’m Game possibly being postponed had already begun to spread. According to several reports, the reason for the delay was that parts of the film’s work were still incomplete.
It is Onam season in Kerala, and the weekend was expected to see the release of two more films as well — Prithviraj’s Khalifa and Nivin Pauly’s Bethlehem Kudumba Unit. With I’m Game backing out, the Onam season will most likely have just two releases with Khalifa releasing on the August 20 and Bethlehem Kudumba Unit releasing a day later.