4 min readKochiOct 9, 2026 03:54 PM IST
Bethlehem Kudumba Unit box office collection worldwide: What makes the blockbuster success of director Girish AD’s Bethlehem Kudumba Unit, starring Nivin Pauly and Mamitha Baiju in the lead roles, even more impressive is the fact that it was made on a shockingly small budget.
At a time when big-ticket films with enormous budgets are failing at the box office, Bethlehem Kudumba Unit’s success and eventual collection of 13 times its investment underscore the power of good cinema made with conviction. It’s worldwide collection is now over Rs 330 crore globally, making it the biggest money-spinner in Malayalam cinema.
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Interestingly, the romantic comedy also stands out as one of the most profitable among the five highest-grossing Malayalam films of all time, especially when its worldwide box office collection is compared with its budget.
Bethlehem Kudumba Unit budget vs collection breakdown
In a recent interview with Club FM, director Girish AD revealed that the romantic comedy cost Rs 25 crore to make. When the movie wrapped up its theatrical run recently, Bethlehem Kudumba Unit’s worldwide collection stood at Rs 330.93 crore, according to industry tracker Sacnilk, making it the highest-grossing Malayalam film ever. The film grossed Rs 192.48 crore in India alone and Rs 138.45 crore from the overseas market. Its India nett collection stood at Rs 164.91 crore.
Discussing his movies, Girish said, “None of the films I have done so far can be called ‘big’ per se. As per the scale of Malayalam cinema, back in the day, a Rs 10-crore movie was considered huge. Today, that is a normal budget. Bethlehem Kudumba Unit’s budget was close to Rs 25 crore. Even then, this cannot be called a terribly big movie. I am someone who has been gradually climbing up like this. I haven’t thought about a movie with a huge budget all of a sudden. Even if I were to make one, it should be a superstar movie.”
BKU vs Lokah vs Empuraan vs Manjummel Boys vs Drishyam 3
At the moment, the remaining four positions in the highest-grossing Malayalam films worldwide after Bethlehem Kudumba Unit are occupied by director Dominic Arun’s Kalyani Priyadarshan-led Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra (2025), Prithviraj Sukumaran’s Mohanlal-starrer L2: Empuraan (2025), Chidambaram’s Manjummel Boys (2024), and Jeethu Joseph’s Mohanlal-headlined Drishyam 3 (2026).
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While Lokah grossed Rs 301.41 crore worldwide against a reported Rs 30-crore budget, Empuraan made Rs 266.81 crore on a budget of approximately Rs 175 crore. Meanwhile, Manjummel Boys also had a massively profitable theatrical run like Bethlehem Kudumba Unit, grossing Rs 241.03 crore against a reported budget of Rs 20 crore.
Although Drishyam 3’s budget isn’t officially known, it’s unlikely to be less than that of Bethlehem Kudumba Unit. The Mohanlal-starrer grossed Rs 239.83 crore during its theatrical run.
However, renowned actor Fahadh Faasil, who co-produced the Nivin Pauly-Mamitha Baiju starrer, recently revealed that he and the other producers would receive only a fraction of the worldwide collection. During an interview with Cue Studio, he said, “None of us will get even half of this Rs 300 crore that they are talking about. That is the gross collection.”
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