Just months after delivering Malayalam cinema’s biggest-ever opening and highest-grossing film with L2: Empuraan, superstar Mohanlal has faced an unexpected setback at the box office. His latest release, Vrusshabha, has registered one of the weakest starts of his long career, struggling both in India and overseas despite its ambitious scale and hefty budget.
Mounted on an estimated budget of ₹70 crore, the multi-language film has failed to gain momentum since its Christmas release, with collections remaining extremely low through its first three days.
Vrusshabha Box Office Performance So Far
Vrusshabha opened to a disappointing ₹60 lakh at the Indian box office on day one, December 25. Given that the film released on a national holiday, the numbers raised immediate concerns within trade circles. The downward trend continued over the next two days, further dampening prospects.
As per industry tracker Sacnilk, the film collected ₹22 lakh on day two and ₹24 lakh on day three (Saturday). With these figures, the movie’s total India net collection after three days stands at just over ₹1 crore. The situation is equally grim overseas, where Vrusshabha has managed to earn only ₹20 lakh so far.
To put this performance into perspective, L2: Empuraan had grossed ₹65 crore worldwide on its opening day alone earlier this year.
Massive Budget Raises Recovery Concerns
Given its ₹70 crore production cost, Vrusshabha is now widely expected to face a disastrous box office outcome. Trade analysts believe that, if the current trend continues, the film may struggle to cross even ₹5 crore net in India. With new releases lined up, several theatres are expected to replace the film after the weekend.
Projections indicate that Vrusshabha could end up incurring losses exceeding 90%, making it one of the most severe commercial failures of Mohanlal’s career.
Film Details and Audience Reception
Written and directed by Nanda Kishore, Vrusshabha features Mohanlal in a dual role set across two timelines. He portrays a medieval-era king as well as a contemporary businessman. The supporting cast includes Samarjit Lankesh, Nayan Sarika, Ragini Dwivedi, Ajay, and Neha Saxena.
The film released simultaneously in Malayalam, Telugu, Hindi, and Kannada on December 25. However, negative critical reception significantly affected audience turnout. The dubbed versions across non-Malayalam languages have together earned only ₹34 lakh in three days, underscoring the lack of traction beyond Kerala as well.
With word-of-mouth failing to improve and collections showing no signs of recovery, Vrusshabha appears set for an early exit from theatres.