Currently, with around 30,000 admissions, Tamil movie Master starring Vijay in the lead role holds the record for the most watched Indian movie in Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, in other Gulf countries it would be between Rs 600 – 700. Here, the cost of a ticket is 65 Riyal which is equivalent to Rs 1300.

Now, Dulquer Salmaan’s Kurup has broken all records by selling more than 15,000 tickets in Saudi Arabia. In 2019, Lucifer won the Comscore award for the Indian movie that registered the biggest collection in the Gulf countries. Malayalam cinema generates business worth around Rs 150 crore in the Gulf countries. More than 50% of the total collection is from the Bollywood films followed by Malayalam movies with a share of more than 25%. Interestingly, Bollywood movies are loved by the Arabs too. Movies in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Punjabi, Marathi and Urdu languages are mostly distributed in the Gulf countries. Indian cinema had done an annual business worth Rs 600 crore in the Gulf region in 2017 – 19. Lucifer collected Rs 8 crore and Mohanlal’s much anticipated Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham got Rs 12 crore. Meanwhile, newcomers World Wide Films had purchased the overseas rights of Odiyan for Rs 3.5 crore. Mohanlal’s Pulimurugan collected a whopping Rs 1.25 from overseas distribution after the movie became a blockbuster in Kerala. This helped the producers to earn more money from overseas distribution alone. However, from 2016 onwards, many Keralite entrepreneurs began investing in the distribution business. This movie became the reason for hundreds of Keralite expatriates to try their hands in film distribution, especially in countries like Canada, United States, Singapore and Australia. The grand success of Lucifer had put the spot light on Malayalam cinema in countries other than the GCC nations. Lucifer grabbed the record for being the first Malayalam movie that registered a whopping collection of Rs 50 crore from abroad. While it raked in Rs 42 crore in the Gulf, Lucifer collected Rs 4 crore from North America and Rs 4 crore from other countries.

Not just in Kerala, but the movie that was released in 2019, had become a mega blockbuster in many foreign countries too.

Lucifer, directed by superstar Prithviraj and starring screen icon Mohanlal in the lead role was a major milestone in the history of Malayalam cinema. Muhammad Rafiq Kulangara, a native of Kasargod who has been working in this field for many years say that latest Dulquer Salmaan starrer Kurup continues the winning streak of many Malayalam movies like the blockbuster Lucifer, in the Gulf countries. Dubai: The GCC countries including the UAE have become a gold mine for the Malayalam movies.

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