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Mohanlal’s 'L2: Empuraan' Takes Biggest Opening Of The Year, Re-Edited Version Gets 24 Cuts
The makers of 'L2: Empuraan' have announced global box-office collections of ₹200 crore, just five days after its April 27 release
L2: Empuraan, directed by Prithviraj Sukumaran and starring Mohanlal, has opened with record-breaking numbers as the film registered a worldwide gross of over ₹200 crore in just five days. It released on March 27 (Thursday) and quickly amassed the biggest opening for an Indian film in 2025.
According to industry tracker Sacnilk, the sequel collected ₹176 crore worldwide during its four-day weekend, beating the traditional three-day weekend of Vicky Kaushal’s Chaava, which stood at ₹165 crore.
Empuraan is also on its way to breaking almost all box-office records in its home state of Kerala. The film registered the biggest opening weekend in the state (surpassing the record held by Vijay’s Leo) as it collected more than ₹50 crore. It also became the first Malayalam movie to collect upwards of ₹100 crore at the overseas box-office, Sacnilk noted.
With this historic run, the film has already become the second-highest grossing Malayalam movie of all time, behind last year’s Manjummel Boys, which grossed an estimated ₹242 crore. Empuraan is expected to eclipse that figure by Thursday.
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Not surprisingly, Empuraan also opened at number three at the global box-office, after Disney’s Snow White and A Working Man. According to ComScore, it is said to have collected $19,437,902 globally. However, the film has had limited success in other languages. The film's five-day all-India net collections stand at ₹70 crore, out of which the Malayalam version alone contributed a whopping ₹64 crore.
Re-edited version of Empuraan to have 24 cuts
Despite the film’s phenomenal opening amid mixed reviews, the film also attracted controversies for its alleged portrayal of the Godhra Riots of 2002 that feature in the film’s opening 20 minutes. As online outrage against the film grew stronger, the film’s star, Mohanlal, issued an apology on Sunday and promised that the film’s team would remove all objectionable scenes that hurt sentiments.
On Facebook, he wrote, “I know that some of the political and social themes that have been introduced in the making of the film Empuraan, the second part of the Lucifer franchise, have caused great distress to many of my loved ones. As an artist, it is my duty to ensure that none of my films is hostile to any political movement, ideology, or religious sect. Therefore, the team of Empuraan and I sincerely regret the distress caused to my loved ones, and with the realisation that the responsibility for it lies with all of us who worked behind the film, we have decided together to remove such themes from the film.”
This apology was also subsequently shared by Prithviraj Sukumaran, although he did not issue any reactions to the ongoing controversy. The film’s writer Murali Gopy has remained silent since release. His only social media post has been that of wishing his followers a happy Eid on Monday.
The film plants Prithviraj Sukumaran’s character Zayed Masood as one of the victims, alluding to the 2002 pogrom, although the film does not mention any specifics, such as the State in which it took place or an exact timeline of the event. The film’s central villain is a man named Baba Bajranji, played by Abhimanyu Singh. The name of this character, too, is said to have been removed/ changed in the new version.
Apart from the core team, director Prithviraj’s mother Mallika Sukumaran has come out in support of her son after a section in Kerala began to spread rumours that Mohanlal had not seen the final version of Empuraan before its release, suggesting that Prithviraj had somehow hidden the film’s controversial opening from the star.
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Bringing clarity to Mallika Sukumaran’s stand, the film’s producer Anthony Perumbavoor also confirmed in a press conference that both he and Mohanlal were made aware of the complete story of the film before its release. Speaking on Tuesday morning about the ongoing controversy, Perumbavoor said, “We as, producers, directors, and actors, have the responsibility to correct any oversight from our part that has hurt a section of the audience. It is in this belief, and we have come to a combined decision to voluntarily re-edit the film. We have removed two minutes and a few additional seconds from the overall length. It is in our prerogative to go ahead with this cut. In the future too, we will take all efforts to not cause any hurt to our viewers.”
The new cuts will remove two minutes and 8 seconds from the original version of Empuraan.
He also added that the choice to re-edit the film is not the result of any political pressure or threats of any kind. The new re-edited version will be released in theatres by tomorrow, April 2. According to Asianet News, the film is said to have gone through a series of 24 cuts.
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Perumbavoor also confirmed that the franchise, “will surely have its third part,” bringing an end to the trilogy.
Empuraan ended with the title reveal of L3: The Beginning, featuring a dragon, a cameo by American actor Rick Yune and the younger version of Stephen Nedumpally played by Mohanlal’s son Pranav Mohanlal. The third part could even be a prequel to Lucifer set in the '80s revealing the growing up years of Stephen Nedumpally after he moves to Bombay in his 20s.