'Drishyam 3' Box-Office: Mohanlal Thriller Registers Second Biggest Malayalam Opening Day Worldwide

The opening day of filmmaker Jeethu Joseph's highly anticipated Drishyam 3 performed exactly as the trade anticipated for the fan-favorite franchise: by shattering multiple records and registering a massive worldwide day-one total. Headlined by Mohanlal, the concluding installment of the beloved crime-thriller franchise posted stellar numbers on its opening day, even as it debuted to a mixed-to-positive audience reception on Thursday.

According to industry tracker Sacnilk, Drishyam 3 clocked a massive ₹48 crore global gross on day one. The official final figures are expected to breach the ₹50 crore mark once the final data filters in.

This registers as the second-biggest opening day in the history of Malayalam cinema, standing only behind last year's L2: Empuraan, which had grossed nearly ₹68 crore globally on its first day.

With its near-₹50 crore start, Drishyam 3 has comfortably surpassed the opening-day figures of previous tentpoles like Turbo, Marakkar: Lion of the Arabian Sea, and Kurup.

Sacnilk reported that the film grossed approximately ₹18.50 crore in the domestic market, which includes a robust ₹11 crore gross from its home state of Kerala.

However, the lion's share of the opening day gross came from international markets. Overseas box office contributed a staggering ₹30 crore, fueled by exceptional performance across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, North America, the UK, and Australia.

If this momentum sustains over the weekend, Drishyam 3 is cleanly eyeing a massive extended four-day weekend of nearly ₹150 crore worldwide.

Produced by Antony Perumbavoor under Aashirvad Cinemas, the film marks the conclusion of a story that has spanned over a decade. The film also stars Meena, Siddique, Asha Sharath, Murali Gopy, Ansiba Hassan, Esther Anil.

Released in 2013, Drishyam became the highest-grossing Malayalam film of its time and was widely remade across Indian languages, as well as internationally.

Its sequel debuted on streaming during the COVID-19 lockdown and achieved similar reach. Together, the films established a reputation for tightly constructed narratives and unexpected twists, which set high expectations for the final instalment.

The film also has a Hindi remake up for release this year. Drishyam 3 in Hindi is headlined by Ajay Devgn and also stars Tabu.