"Drishyam 3" has opened strongly, securing the second-highest Malayalam opening (two-day gross) for a Mohanlal film after "L2: Empuraan". Interestingly, it has almost generated in two days (Rs 76.18 crore) what the previous Mohanlal-Jeethu Joseph film, "Neru," grossed in its lifetime (Rs 86 crore).
Box office tracker Sacnilk notes that the film showed a 30% drop on the second day, earning Rs 11.05 crore compared to the Rs 15.85 crore earned on the first day. However, the international market sustained its momentum by bringing in Rs 20 crore gross on Day 2 alone.
It remains, however, behind Prithviraj Sukumaran's "L2: Empuraan", which raked in a towering Rs 67.50 crore worldwide on its opening day alone. It's only natural because the latter is an action-heavy entertainer and the former a suspense-driven family drama — of all the "Drishyam" films, the third part leans more into the character-based moments than relying heavily on a twist-laden narrative.
Aside from "Neru", the pace of "Drishyam 3" puts it ahead of other recent major Mohanlal releases like "Malaikottai Vaaliban" and "Patriot" (extended cameo) within the same timeframe.
As always, the Malayalam version earned the most revenue of all the South Indian languages, with Rs 9.85 crore and registered 61.0% occupancy across 2,875 shows.
The Telugu version, despite breaking records for early bookings as a dubbed Malayalam film in the region, faced lower local theatrical occupancy (dropping to 17% on Day 2). Reports suggest that Telugu audiences, already accustomed to Venkatesh Daggubati's portrayal of the lead character (Rambabu) in the previous films, might find it difficult to adapt to the timeline and sensibilities of Mohanlal's original version.
The Tamil version holds a slightly better occupancy rate at 24%. Chennai and surrounding regions have historically embraced Mohanlal, keeping the theatrical run stable despite fewer overall show counts compared to Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.