The Malayalam coming-of-age blockbuster sequel "Vaazha 2: Biopic of a Billion Bros" was most recently crowned the industry hit (highest in Kerala box office). With a little over Rs 124 crore earned already in Kerala and approximately Rs 235 crores (and counting) in worldwide collections, "Vaazha 2" is very close to beating the lifetime gross of "Thudarum" and "Manjummel Boys".
The three movies trail behind "Lokah: Chapter 1 - Chandra" and "L2: Empuraan" in the list of the top 5 highest Malayalam grossers worldwide.
The "Thudarum" spot — the fourth-highest-grossing Malayalam film of all time — should be occupied in a day (the Rs 2 crore needed would be covered soon). If it keeps up the same — or at least a steady — momentum for another week, it should easily surpass "Manjummel Boys" (about Rs 6.5 crore more required).
However, aiming for the lifetime gross of the other two titans in the Top 5 Malayalam grossers worldwide, "L2: Empuraan" and "Lokah", will be quite a challenge, considering that it's not a big-scale spectacle and doesn't feature big stars.
But if it sustains the strong pace for another month, especially with the release of its Telugu version, it should be able to take over at least the "L2: Empuraan" spot in another month. It requires about Rs 33 crore to surpass the Mohanlal blockbuster and about Rs 70 crore to occupy the spot of "Lokah".
On its 25th day, that is, the fourth Sunday, "Vaazha 2" showed strong growth, collecting around Rs 3.05 crore (across 2,087 shows) compared to the Rs 2.50 crore earned on the fourth Saturday. The numbers registered on the fourth weekend are the highest since those of the third weekend.
Notably, the Telugu-dubbed version of "Vaazha 2" performed remarkably well, providing a significant boost to the film’s late-stage box office run, and continues to add to the cumulative worldwide total. Within just three days of its release in the Telugu states, the dubbed version contributed about Rs 3 crore net to the total India net collection, as per box office tracker Sacnilk.
Directed by debutant Savin S.A. and written by Vipin Das (also the writer of "Vaazha: Biopic of a Billion Boys), the sequel is headlined by popular Malayalam content creators Hashir, Alan Bin Siraj, Ajin Joy, and Vinayak V. The fact that the movie was made on an approximate budget of Rs 10 crore, the movie has managed to become an exceptional return on investment.
Encouraged by the success of the two films, a third instalment, "Vaazha III: Biopic of a Billion Girls", has already been announced.