Unda earns Rs 11.9 cr in Kerala in 6 days; Kolaigaran tops Tamil Nadu box office for second consecutive weekend

Malayalam star Mammootty’s  Unda , which is the biggest south release of last week besides another popular film in Taapsee’s  Game Over , has raked in a fantastic total of Rs 11.9 cr in Kerala from six days of theatrical run. The movie, which saw the light of day on 14 June, sailed past the Rs 10 cr mark in Kerala in just five days thanks to excellent word-of-mouth and reviews from critics. [caption id=“attachment_6821341” align=“alignnone” width=“1200”] Mammooty in a still from Unda. Image via Twitter[/caption] Directed by Khalid Rahman of Anuraga Karikkin Vellam fame, the number of shows for Unda in Kerala has sailed past the 4,000 mark on Wednesday. Made on a shoestring budget of Rs 8 cr, the film is already declared a super-hit by the trade. The film, which also Shine Tom Chacko, Jacob Gregory and Arjun Ashokan in essential roles, has pulled in nearly Rs 1.59 cr from the rest of India region and is currently the sixth top ROI Malayalam grosser of 2019 after Lucifer, Kumbalangi Nights, Uyare, Virus, and Madhura Raja. The opening day alone had an approximate 900 shows all over India, including close to 730 shows in Kerala. Unda has also received praise from filmmakers like Ranjith Sankar, best known for his movies such as Varsham and Pretham. “Unda for me is the best film of the year so far. The most relevant theme and an outstanding effort. Mammootty in movies like Peranbu and Unda should be the greatest examples of most effective use of superstardom in recent times,” wrote Ranjith on his official social media page. At the Kerala box-office, Unda witnessed an uptick in collections from day one. The day 3 gross of the film in the state was greater than day 2, which outnumbered the opening day cumulative total. Produced by Krishnan Sethukumar under Moviee Mill, Unda landed in the Gulf territory on June 19 from evening shows. The UAE-GCC is a significant mark for Malayalam films and the glowing reviews for Unda assure a solid run for the movie at the ticket window. The film is releasing in nearly 92 locations in countries such as Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and the UAE. There also reports that the Gulf distributor is trying to release Unda in Saudi Arabia. If it happens, it will be the first-ever release for Mammootty in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Unda released on 20 June in the USA, Asia-Pacific, and Africa region, which comprises major territories such as New Zealand, Singapore, Australia, South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya. [caption id=“attachment_6820381” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Arjun Sarja and Vijay Antony lock horns in Kolaigaran. Image via Twitter[/caption] Meanwhile, director Aashiq Abu’s holdover hit  Virus  has edged past the Rs 15 cr in worldwide theatrical sales, including a peachy running total of Rs 11.74 cr in Kerala from 12 days. With $65,000 from 10 days, Virus is currently the fourth top-earning Malayalam film of 2019 in the USA after Lucifer, Kumbalangi Nights, and Uyare.  Last week witnessed a flurry of new films in Tamil such as Sivakarthikeyan’s sophomore production Nenjamundu Nermaiyundu Odu Raja, Ramprakash Rayappa’s crime thriller Suttu Pidikka Utharavu, and Taapsee’s suspense thriller Game Over. However, it was Vijay Antony’s holdover hit  Kolaigaran , which topped the Tamil Nadu and Chennai city box-office for the 14-16 June weekend. Kolaigaran has achieved the feat for the second consecutive time after topping the opening weekend with Rs 6.8 cr total. Now, the film directed by Andrew Louis and presented by Dhananjayan of BOFTA Media Works, has accrued a total of Rs 13.5 cr in Tamil Nadu alone. While Taapsee’s Game Over directed by Ashwin Saravanan and produced by Sashikanth has reportedly earned a total of Rs 2 cr in Tamil Nadu in its opening weekend, Nenjamundu.. has collected Rs 2.9 cr from three days. Game Over occupied the second spot at the Chennai city box-office with nearly Rs 45 lakhs and the film is sustaining brilliantly in the A center, especially multiplexes.