1 week Ago By Online Desk
Mohanlal’s L2: Empuraan has already achieved the remarkable feat of becoming the highest-grossing Malayalam film of all time. Meanwhile, his latest release, Thudarum, has received largely positive reviews and is on track to become his second film this year to surpass Rs 50 crore at the box office. Among the biggest beneficiaries of this success is JioHotstar.
According to a report by OTTplay, The streaming platform had already secured the OTT rights for Empuraan, the second instalment in the Lucifer franchise, for a record-breaking price. It has now also acquired the rights for Thudarum. However, it appears that the deal for Thudarum was struck at a much lower price.
The film’s producer, M Renjith, reportedly started talks with JioHotstar last year and agreed to sell the rights to the platform during the Disney-Reliance merger. At that time, the value of Mohanlal’s movies had dropped, as his last hit was Neru in December 2023. Both Malaikottai Vaaliban and Barroz didn’t do well in theatres or on OTT.
The rights for the film were eventually sold at a lower price compared to other Mohanlal films by the end of 2024. However, with the positive reception Thudarum is receiving, JioHotstar has come out on top. Recently, many makers of Malayalam films have been waiting to sell their digital streaming rights until after their theatrical release.
If the film performs well, it leads to higher prices for the streaming rights. If it doesn’t, the rights might not even be sold.Empuraan premiered on JioHotstar four weeks after its theatrical release, and it's expected that Thudarum will follow a similar pattern, potentially arriving on the platform by the end of May.
The film, which hit theatres on April 25, features Shobana, Binu Pappu, and filmmaker Prakash Varma alongside Mohanlal, who plays the lead role of Shanmugham, a taxi driver. The drama-thriller, co-written by KR Sunil and Tharun Moorthy, follows the chain of events that unfold after Shanmugham’s beloved Ambassador car is impounded by the police, affecting his family’s life..
