On March 27, the Malayalam film Empuraan made a remarkable debut in Karnataka, with an impressive total of 1,008 screenings in Bengaluru alone, of which 840 were dedicated to this version. Distributed by Hombale Films in the region, Prithviraj Sukumaran's latest directorial effort has outperformed his previous film Aadujeevitham, which had 367 screenings in the city. Notably, the leading actor Mohanlal's films, Malaikottai Vaaliban and Marakkar, each had fewer than 200 screenings in Bengaluru upon their release.

Empuraan in Karnataka: Record footfalls on Day 1 

Trade trackers report that Empuraan achieved an impressive 150,000 footfalls on its opening day in Karnataka, marking the highest attendance for any film in the state this year. The gross revenue for Day 1 is estimated at approximately Rs 3.6 crore, with around Rs 50 lakh generated from the Kannada version alone. The film's success extended beyond Bengaluru, as Mangaluru recorded 97 shows, the highest number of Day 1 screenings for a Malayalam film. This surpasses the single-day show count of Kantara, which had 95 shows on its 17th day, as well as the opening day attendance figures of KGF: Chapter 2.

On its opening day, Empuraan recorded 153 early morning screenings (between 6 am and 8 am) in Bengaluru, outpacing other films such as RRR (144) and Adhipurush (133). It is estimated that these early shows generated approximately Rs 73 lakh across the state. The film's total gross for day one across India is reported to be around Rs 22 crore. Although there has been a slight decrease in occupancy on day two, projections based on pre-release ticket sales suggest that it could reach approximately Rs 50 crore by the end of the weekend.

However, since the production budget of the film has not been disclosed, it is uncertain what revenue threshold is necessary for it to break even. Additionally, the film's performance on the following Monday will be critical in determining its ability to maintain its current success. Empuraan is the second installment in Prithviraj Sukumaran’s Lucifer universe and the planned trilogy. The filmmakers have indicated that the success of Lucifer enabled them to produce Empuraan on such a grand scale, and the viability of the third installment, tentatively titled L3: The Beginning, will heavily rely on the performance of L2.

L3 is being envisioned as a larger production, according to Prithviraj. Currently, there is no set schedule for when the team will come together to complete the final installment, as the actor-director has indicated that his upcoming directorial project will be Tyson, in collaboration with Hombale Films.

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