New Delhi, May 25, 2026: The undisputed king of Mollywood’s box office has returned to reclaim his throne. Over its explosive four-day extended opening weekend, superstar Mohanlal’s highly anticipated crime-thriller Drishyam 3 has taken the global box office by storm. Directed by mastermind Jeethu Joseph, the final chapter of the iconic franchise generated a staggering Rs 141.34 crore worldwide gross, shattering numerous records along the way. Despite facing intense scrutiny from fans and industry veterans alike, the cinematic puzzle surrounding the elusive protagonist Georgekutty has proved to be an irresistible draw for global audiences.
While the thriller has established itself as an unmitigated blockbuster within just 96 hours of its theatrical release, it has narrowly missed achieving the single highest opening weekend in Malayalam cinema history. That ultimate distinction remains safely held by another Mohanlal powerhouse—the action epic L2: Empuraan, which brought in a record-shattering Rs 59 crore net domestically over its own initial four-day stretch. Nevertheless, Drishyam 3 rests comfortably in a secure second place, rapidly closing the gap with robust international legs and unwavering hold over regional markets.
Breaking Down the Domestic Box Office Numbers
According to data compiled by industry trade tracker Sacnilk, Drishyam 3 completed its first crucial weekend testing phase on Sunday (Day 4) by capturing Rs 13.95 crore net across Indian theaters. This represents a solid 1.8 percent growth compared to Saturday’s collection of Rs 13.70 crore net, indicating positive audience word-of-mouth driving families back to theater halls.
The film’s cumulative four-day domestic total has reached a highly impressive Rs 54.55 crore net, which translates to an aggregate domestic gross of Rs 63.34 crore. Unsurprisingly, the film’s homestate of Kerala continues to function as its economic spine. On Sunday alone, Kerala generated a remarkable Rs 9.70 crore gross, with theaters recording a spectacular 69.35 percent occupancy across 3,186 single screens and multiplex shows.
While the original Malayalam cut accounts for the vast majority of theater traffic, the pan-India dubbed releases successfully diversified the revenue stream over the weekend:
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Telugu Version: Contributed Rs 1.20 crore on Sunday, benefiting from the strong localized brand equity established by its previous regional iterations.
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Tamil Version: Brought in Rs 65 lakh, enjoying highly packed evening shows across metropolitan Chennai.
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Kannada Version: Pulled in a modest Rs 35 lakh from a targeted, limited release pattern.
The Power of the Overseas Diaspora
What truly elevates Drishyam 3 into an international powerhouse is its sensational run across overseas territories. Over its four-day run, international markets have generated an astonishing Rs 78.00 crore gross, outperforming domestic receipts by a clear margin.
Audiences throughout the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, North America, the United Kingdom, and Western Europe turned out in historic numbers. In traditional Malayalam strongholds like the UAE and Qatar, exhibitors added late-night weekend screenings to meet unprecedented ticket demand. This dual-engine growth—unshakable dominance at home matched with aggressive distribution across the global diaspora—has already pushed Drishyam 3 beyond the entire first-week total of Mohanlal’s prior theatrical release, Thudarum, which earned Rs 51.4 crore over seven full days.
Critical Reception vs. Commercial Triumph
The runaway financial success of Drishyam 3 comes amidst a fascinatingly divided critical landscape. Unlike the universal critical acclaim that greeted the original film in 2013 and its subsequent sequel in 2021, the third installment has met with a mix of opinions.
Before the project arrived in theaters on May 21, both Mohanlal and director Jeethu Joseph made deliberate efforts in media interviews to manage audience expectations. Joseph explicitly clarified that the finale would lean heavily into emotional drama, closely tracking Georgekutty’s fraying psychological state following the traumatic fallout of Drishyam 2, rather than relying strictly on the jaw-dropping plot twists that defined earlier chapters.
While some critics questioned if the series truly required an additional chapter, general theatergoers have overwhelmingly embraced the emotional stakes. The tension of watching a desperate father continually shield his wife Rani (Meena) and daughters Anju (Ansiba Hassan) and Anu (Esther Anil) from the unrelenting legal system remains an unmatched cinematic experience for loyal fans.
The Global Drishyam Phenomenon
The stellar performance of the third Malayalam installment reinforces Drishyam as arguably India’s most successful native thriller intellectual property. The original film achieved legendary status not only in Kerala but across the entire Indian subcontinent through its highly lucrative remakes. The Hindi adaptation starring Ajay Devgn has built its own multi-crore legacy; trade analysts note that the Hindi version of Drishyam 3 is already slated for a massive nationwide theatrical rollout later this year in October.
Furthermore, the franchise’s footprint has officially gone global. Beyond standard regional Indian language remakes, an official Indonesian adaptation titled Ayah, Aku Mau Cerita… (“Dad, I Want to Tell You”) is currently in active production, demonstrating the universal human appeal of a father willing to outsmart the world to save his family.
As Drishyam 3 heads into its first weekday operational cycle, the focus now shifts to its stabilization trend. With Monday morning shows maintaining stable occupancy rates around 45 percent, the movie is positioned to breeze past the coveted Rs 150 crore milestone within days. Whether it possesses the legs to ultimately outpace L2: Empuraan over a lifetime run remains to be seen, but one reality is undeniable: Georgekutty has outsmarted the box office once again.