Malayalam cinema’s Q1 2026 was disappointing and heartbreaking, until Aadu 3 saved it | Malayalam News
With the arrival of director Savin SA’s Vaazha 2 on April 2, theatres in Kerala have sprung back to life. The coming-of-age comedy-drama, featuring no film stars in its main cast, has emerged as a bona fide blockbuster and is gearing up to enter the Rs 200 crore club, making it only the fifth Malayalam movie in history to surpass the milestone. For the industry, Vaazha 2’s massive success has been a shot in the arm following an extremely dull three-month period at the start of this year, during which even the most anticipated works failed to leave any impact, and even the one that made some noise at the box office ended up not rising to expectations. A quick look at the movies that hit the screens during the first quarter of 2026, compared to the corresponding period in the last few years (2021-2025), incontrovertibly proves that the first three months were utterly disappointing for Malayalam cinema this time, with nothing substantial to provide respite. Not just big-ticket films, but even quality small movies …
