One of the most anticipated Malayalam films of 2023, Abhilash Joshiy’s Dulquer Salmaan-starrer King of Kotha hit the screens worldwide on August 24, following extensive hype and large-scale promotional events.
Despite the initial buzz, the film faced challenges due to mixed responses and the subsequent release of movies like RDX and Nivin Pauly’s Ramachandra Boss and Co, hindering its ambitions for an extraordinary box office performance.
Nevertheless, King of Kotha is still holding its ground at the box office and has so far managed to collect Rs 36 crore worldwide as it enters its second week in theatres. According to Team KoK, the film is currently being screened in over 200 theatres, overcoming obstacles such as “intentional attempts to degrade it and the leakage of the film’s print online”. While King of Kotha has earned Rs 14.5 crore from the Kerala market alone and around Rs 15 crore from international markets, it has also achieved a Return on Investment (ROI) of Rs 7 crore. The figures indicate that the movie is experiencing a successful run in overseas markets.
According to industry tracker Sacnilk, the film raked in approximately Rs 1.11 crore in the domestic market on Wednesday, with predicted earnings of Rs 1.04 crore on Thursday. On its release day, August 24, King of Kotha recorded an India nett of around Rs 6.85 crore.
Prior to its premiere, it had strong advance bookings, with the Malayalam version selling around 1,66,210 tickets, amounting to Rs 2,67,50,122. While the Telugu version had an advance booking gross of Rs 27,11,373 from 16,447 tickets sold, the Tamil version recorded Rs 9,41,320 from 7,201 tickets, contributing to a total of Rs 3.04 crore in India.
Helmed by debutant Abhilash Joshiy, the film also stars Shabeer Kallarakkal, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Nyla Usha, Chemban Vinod Jose, Prasanna and Gokul Suresh.
King of Kotha marked Dulquer Salmaan’s comeback to the Malayalam film industry after more than a year. His previous release was the crime thriller Salute, which directly premiered on an OTT platform in early 2022.
