South India Box Office Mid-Year Report 2026: Ram Charan’s ‘Peddi’ tops charts; ‘Drishyam 3’ and ‘Karuppu’ shine | Malayalam Movie News
The first half of 2026 has produced several major theatrical hits in the South Indian film industries. Telugu cinema has led the race with multiple blockbusters, while Malayalam cinema has continued its remarkable run through sequels and content-driven entertainers as always. Tamil cinema has also scored a big commercial winner and marked the comeback of superstar Suriya after a long string of underwhelming films. ‘Peddi’ tops the list. Tamil cinema has also scored a big commercial winner and marked the comeback of superstar Suriya after a long string of underwhelming films.
‘Peddi’ tops the list
Topping the list is Ram Charan’s ‘Peddi’. The sports drama has become the highest-grossing South Indian film of the year, raking in Rs 332-378 crore worldwide.According to Sacnilk’s latest estimates, ‘Peddi’ registered a growth of 20.8% on the 23rd, taking its India net collection to close to Rs 240 crore and India gross to nearly Rs 282 crore. It brought in over Rs 193 crore in its opening week alone. Even with mixed reviews and controversies surrounding Janhvi Kapoor’s character, ‘Peddi’ turned out to be a box office winner.
‘Karuppu’, ‘Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu’ and Malayalam winners
Suriya’s ‘Karuppu’ emerged as Tamil cinema’s biggest hit of 2026. The action-fantasy entertainer collected approximately Rs 304-340 crore worldwide. It has become the biggest hit of Suriya’s career.Sacnilk reported a 28th day India net collection of Rs 37 lakh. The latest numbers put its net in India close to Rs 195 crore, Indian gross around Rs 226 crore, overseas gross at Rs 81 crore and worldwide collections close to Rs 306 crore.Chiranjeevi’s ‘Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu’ also enjoyed a blockbuster theatrical run. Released during Sankranthi, the family entertainer crossed Rs 300 crore worldwide after opening with over Rs 32 crore on Day 1. The film ended its first week with nearly Rs 158 crore nett in India and maintained stable collections during the festive season.Malayalam cinema delivered two of the biggest commercial hits of the year. Mohanlal’s “Drishyam 3” collected Rs 238-242 crore worldwide. The strong overseas support and popularity of the franchise helped the thriller become one of the highest grossers in Mollywood, although the film received mixed reviews from audiences who were disappointed.“Vaazha II: Biopic of a Billion Bros” followed closely with worldwide collections of Rs 234-236 crore. The emotional family entertainer benefited from excellent word of mouth after opening with Rs 4.75 crore nett in India. In terms of content quality and box office revenue, ‘Vaazha 2’ can be placed above all other Malayalam releases in the first half of 2026.
‘Aadu 3’, ‘Anaganaga Oka Raju’ and ‘Youth’ wowed the trade
Jayasurya’s ‘Aadu 3’ continued the franchise’s successful legacy by collecting close to Rs 120 crore worldwide. The comedy entertainer performed exceptionally well in Kerala and earned a super hit verdict after opening with around Rs 6 crore nett in India.Another surprise hit was Naveen Polishetty’s ‘Anaganaga Oka Raju’. Produced on a modest budget of nearly Rs 8 crore, the comedy grossed Rs 84-100 crore worldwide.Tamil cinema also celebrated the success of Ken Karunas’ ‘Youth’, which also marked Suraj Venjaramoodu’s first blockbuster in Tamil. The low-budget film collected Rs 68-77 crore worldwide.
Big budget movies that fell short
Not all major releases managed to meet expectations in the first half of 2026.Prabhas’ RajaSaab opened strongly with nearly Rs 45 crore nett in India including preview collections. However, the high-budget romantic-horror-comedy took around Rs 208 crore worldwide, falling short of expectations given its massive production cost.Pawan Kalyan’s ‘Ustaad Bhagat Singh’ also struggled despite an opening day collection of Rs 34.75 crore. The film concluded with approximately Rs 97 crore worldwide and was widely considered a commercial disappointment.Other Telugu releases like ‘Dacoit’, ‘Raakaasa’ and ‘Biker’ also failed to sustain the momentum after their initial releases. Its worldwide collections remained around Rs 57 crore, Rs 22 crore and Rs 18 crore respectively.Malayalam film ‘Kattalan’ from the makers of ‘Marco’ also underperformed despite opening with around Rs 3.4 crore nett in India. The Antony Varghese film finally ended its run at Rs 8-10 crore worldwide.Looking at the first half collection reports, Telugu films have dominated the overall box office, though the films that turned out to be hits did not satisfy the audience much. Malayalam cinema also surprised the audience with unexpected blockbusters like ‘Vaazha 2’.Tamil cinema has also enjoyed an exciting year with films like ‘Karuppu’ and ‘Youth’ and with ‘Jailer 2’, ‘Dharman’ and many more expected films releasing in the second half, the industry seems to be in a safe zone.
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