Drishyam 3 Worldwide Box Office Day 11: Crosses ₹225 Crore Milestone, On Track To Beat Thudarum!

Mohanlal's Drishyam 3 crossed the ₹225 crore mark worldwide by Day 11, with overseas markets carrying more than half the total gross. The Jeethu Joseph directorial is now just under ₹10 crore away from surpassing Thudarum's lifetime collection and becoming the 5th highest-grossing Malayalam film ever made.

Day 11 Box Office Breakdown: India Market

On its second Sunday (Day 11), Drishyam 3 collected ₹5.35 crore net across Indian markets, a slight improvement over the ₹5.10 crore earned on Day 10. The uptick follows the usual second-weekend recovery pattern, where family audiences who'd been waiting for early feedback finally make their way to theatres. Friday (Day 9) had slipped to ₹4.30 crore, so the bounce back to ₹5.35 crore on Sunday was welcome news for trade analysts.

In terms of domestic totals, Drishyam 3's India net stands at ₹96.70 crore after 11 days, translating to an India gross of ₹112.20 crore. The film is on the cusp of hitting the ₹100 crore net mark in India, likely on Day 12 or 13.

Overseas Box Office: The Real Story Behind the Numbers

If the India numbers tell a story of a solid franchise performer, the overseas numbers tell a completely different one. Drishyam 3 has accumulated ₹116.75 crore gross from international markets by Day 11 — accounting for more than half of its worldwide total. On Day 11 alone, overseas screens contributed ₹4.50 crore to the kitty.

To put this in context, Mohanlal's L2: Empuraan holds the record for Malayalam cinema's biggest overseas grosser at ₹142.25 crore. Drishyam 3 has already overtaken Thudarum's overseas total of ₹93.80 crore and Vaazha 2's ₹85.75 crore, sitting comfortably at the second spot. The franchise's decade-long cult status among the global Malayali diaspora is clearly driving this performance.

The Race to Beat Thudarum: How Close Is Drishyam 3?

Mohanlal's 2025 release Thudarum earned ₹237.76 crore gross in its worldwide theatrical lifetime. Drishyam 3 is currently sitting at approximately ₹227.85 crore — meaning it needs just under ₹10 crore more to surpass Thudarum and claim the 5th spot on the all-time Malayalam box office chart.

All-Time Malayalam Box Office Rankings: Where Does Drishyam 3 Stand?

Once Drishyam 3 clears Thudarum's lifetime, it will then chase Vaazha 2 (₹235.25 crore) in quick succession. The two records are separated by just ₹2.51 crore, meaning a single good weekend could push Drishyam 3 past both. After that, the #3 spot — Manjummel Boys at ₹241 crore — becomes a real possibility, though it will likely require a strong third weekend and sustained weekday collections.

Film Overview: What Makes Drishyam 3 Tick?

Cast and Crew

Drishyam 3 is written and directed by Jeethu Joseph — the same mind behind the original 2013 thriller that launched Georgekutty into pop culture. The full technical team from Drishyam 2 has returned: cinematographer Satheesh Kurup handles the visual palette, V.S. Vinayak takes care of editing, and Anil Johnson provides the score. Antony Perumbavoor produces under the Aashirvad Cinemas banner, with Panorama Studios and Pen Studios as partners.

Mohanlal reprises his iconic role as Georgekutty, joined by Meena as his wife Rani, Esther Anil and Ansiba Hassan as their daughters, and Asha Sharath as Geetha Prabhakar. Siddique and Murali Gopy round out the principal cast. The film was released on May 21, 2026 — Mohanlal's birthday — and is intended as the final installment of the franchise.

The Franchise Legacy

The original Drishyam (2013) was made on a budget of ₹3.5–5 crore and went on to gross an estimated ₹62 crore — an extraordinary multiplier that announced both Jeethu Joseph and Mohanlal's Georgekutty as forces to reckon with in Indian thriller filmmaking. Drishyam 2 was initially a pandemic-era OTT release in 2021 on Amazon Prime Video before getting a theatrical run in April 2026. Drishyam 3 is the first entry built exclusively for the theatrical experience, which partly explains its massive overseas pre-sales and opening weekend.

What the Numbers Mean for Malayalam Cinema

Drishyam 3's box office run is doing something interesting: it's proving that the Malayalam film industry's global footprint is now structural, not occasional. The overseas market consistently delivering more than 50% of the total gross is not an anomaly — it's what happened with L2: Empuraan, Thudarum, and now Drishyam 3.

For trade observers, that's a significant shift. A decade ago, Malayalam films were made primarily for Kerala. Today, they're designed for a worldwide Malayali audience first, with the domestic market as a complement. Drishyam 3, Thudarum, and L2: Empuraan are all evidence of an industry that has quietly built one of Indian cinema's most loyal international audiences.

The film's performance is also encouraging for franchise storytelling in regional cinema. Mixed reviews notwithstanding, audiences showed up in large numbers because they trusted the universe — a template that other South Indian industries are now actively trying to replicate.

What's Next: Week 3 Outlook and Upcoming Milestones

The immediate challenge for Drishyam 3 is the weekday drop that sets in after every second Sunday. School reopening in Kerala from June 1 is expected to put some pressure on weekday occupancy. That said, given the film needs just ₹9.91 crore more to beat Thudarum, that gap should close well before the end of Week 2.

After Thudarum, the targets in order are: Vaazha 2 (₹235.25 crore), then Manjummel Boys (₹241 crore). Clearing all three would require a total of around ₹13 crore more — achievable if the third weekend holds. Whether it eventually challenges the top 3 depends entirely on how the working days go from here.

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