Onam 2025 Kerala Box Office: Mohanlal's 'Hridayapoorvam' takes initial lead over Dulquer Salmaan's production 'Lokah' in advance bookings

The Onam period is the most prosperous period at the Kerala Box Office in terms of potential. If the content clicks with the audiences, the holiday period is a huge bonus that will help films to keep the cash registers ringing for the next few weeks at least. In fact, even a film with decent word-of-mouth has the potential to pass off as hits during this period, if they can be entertaining enough. Not surprisingly, there are always multiple films vying for the crown during this period, like the Pongal and Sankranti time in Tamil Nadu and AP/TG respectively.

Mohanlal's Hridayapoorvam, directed by veteran Sathyan Anthikad, along with Dulquer Salmaan's production venture Lokah directed by Dominic Arun, are the first films to hit the screens on Thursday (August 28). Fahadh Faasil's Odum Kuthira Chaadum Kuthira, directed by Althaf Salim, arrives a day later on August 29. Advance bookings of the releases have opened across the state and not surprisingly, it's Hridayapoorvam that is leading at the moment.

Odum Kuthira Chaadum Kuthira is yet to open bookings on a full-fledged level in Kerala and only few theaters have started reservations for this comedy entertainer. Meanwhile, Lokah along with Hridayapoorvam have opened advance bookings to the max across the state with both films recording good initial numbers in the advances.

According to reports, Hridayapoorvam has sold over 50000 tickets from 996 tracked shows with an approximate gross of ₹87 lakhs. For Lokah, the tracked show count is 735 with an estimated gross of ₹39 lakhs. The numbers are satisfactory for both films due to a variety of reasons.

Lokah, despite being a grand scale action film with high budget, doesn't have a bona fide superstar in it. Naslen has scored a few hits in recent times with Premalu being the biggest of them all but he isn't a certified superstar yet. Also, the film centers around Kalyani Priyadarshan who doesn't have a standalone stardom to guarantee an earth-shattering opening.

However, the aggressive promotions from Dulquer's banner Wayfarer Films and impressive trailer has increased the buzz around the film. The advance should pick up a bit more in the next 24-48 hours but mostly, it will be about the word-of-mouth to see where the initial collections land.

For Hridayapoorvam, Mohanlal's presence is the obvious USP and his reunion with Anthikadu after a decade. The duo's combination has a deep nostalgic value in the minds of Keralites but at the same time, they have never been front-loaded films that take huge starts. Rather, the films tend to grow with word-of-mouth and tend to have a long run at the box office.

Compared to the earth-shattering starts that Empuraan and Thudarum took, Hridayapoorvam should be a quieter affair in the initial days. However, as we have seen, if a Mohanlal starrer clicks with the audiences, things can turn on it head very quickly.