Nivin Pauly’s Bethlehem Kudumba Unit held the Rs 1 crore India net line on its fifth Friday, adding Rs 1.03 crore on day 29 despite a mild 1.9% dip from Rs 1.05 crore a day earlier. The Friday number came from 935 shows at an overall occupancy of 29.0%, according to Sacnilk figures cited in the report.
The week-wise trajectory
The steady fifth-week hold is the headline. The India net total now stands at Rs 153.23 crore, with India gross at Rs 178.92 crore. The reported week-wise India net splits show the expected decay but a strong early base:
- Week 1: Rs 52.30 crore
- Week 2: Rs 49.85 crore
- Week 3: Rs 33.30 crore
- Week 4: Rs 16.75 crore
A single-digit percentage day-on-day drop at this stage is more important than the absolute number; it suggests the film is still finding late-run audiences rather than falling off sharply.
Where Friday audiences came from
The Malayalam version dominated day 29 with Rs 92 lakh from 802 shows and 29.0% occupancy. The Tamil version contributed Rs 6 lakh from 49 shows at 38.0% occupancy, while the Telugu version added Rs 5 lakh from 84 shows at 24.0% occupancy. Within the Malayalam 2D format, overall occupancy was 24.56%, with night shows the clear driver at 40.08%, against 11.75% in morning, 16.08% in afternoon, and 20.25% in evening shows.
Overseas added Rs 25 lakh on day 29, taking the international gross to Rs 136.45 crore. Combined with India gross, the worldwide gross is now Rs 315.37 crore.
The comparison with Im Game
Dulquer Salmaan’s Im Game offers a useful contrast. Its worldwide gross is Rs 47.77 crore, with Rs 25.37 crore India net, Rs 29.57 crore India gross and Rs 18.20 crore overseas. The India share is 61.90% against 38.10% overseas. The Malayalam version’s daily net has been sliding: Rs 9 lakh on September 15, Rs 7 lakh on September 16, Rs 4 lakh on September 17, and Rs 1 lakh on September 18—the lowest of the four reported days.
For media planners and distribution teams, the contrast is clear: Bethlehem Kudumba Unit is playing as a long-tail theatrical event, while Im Game is already in a sharper daily decline in the Malayalam market. The night-show strength for Bethlehem Kudumba Unit also signals that working-age audiences are still turning up on a weekday, which matters for exhibitors deciding screen allocations in the coming week.
The report cautions that these are public and industry estimates and may be revised as studio data is finalised.
Source: The Times of India
