How Mohanlal's 'Marakkar' became the first Indian film to earn Rs 100 crore even before its release

'Marakkar: Lion of the Arabian Sea has Mohanlal in the lead. It also stars Keerthy Suresh and Sunil Shetty. (Film poster)

A day after Malayalam superstar Mohanlal tweeted the trailer of his upcoming period drama 'Marakkar: Lion of the Arabian Sea', he put up a post claiming that the film is the first Indian movie to enter the Rs 100 crore club worldwide through reservations alone.

Initially, producer Antony Perumbavoor had considered giving the film a direct-to-OTT release as the environment at the box office was not conducive to protecting his financial interests. But, Minister for Film Development Corporation and Chalachitra Academy Saji Cherian convinced him to release 'Marakkar' in theatres, to help the film industry bounce back after the pandemic. This decision seems to have worked in their favour as the advanced bookings that the film is generating at the box office has been unprecedented, claim the filmmakers.

The film is based on the lives of naval chiefs during the 16th century who fought valiantly against the Portuguese army. The Priyadarshan directed period drama is one of the most expensive Malayalam films ever made with a reported cost of over Rs 100 crore.

Mohanlal, who plays the lead role in 'Marakkar', on Wednesday shared some numbers regarding its pre-release ticket sales. The film is slated to release worldwide in 4,100 screens with 16,000 shows per day, he tweeted.

നാളെ ചരിത്ര ദിവസം കുഞ്ഞാലിയുടെയും മലയാള സിനിമയുടെയും #MarakkarFromDec2

Worldwide releasing in 4100 screens with 16000 shows per day.#MarakkarArabikadalinteSimham#MarakkarLionoftheArabianSea pic.twitter.com/BvWS0BeBU0

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— Mohanlal (@Mohanlal) December 1, 2021

In an earlier interview, writer and director Priyadarshan had said, "'Marakkar' is a big-budget film that can be enjoyed only on the big screen, even if I have to wait for another six months it will only have a theatrical release. Mohanlal, Antony Perumbavoor (producer and distributor), and me, we are on the same page as far as the release is concerned and we are sure a big tentpole film like Marakkar will have a big screen release before going the digital way."

The film was originally scheduled for a March 2020 release but was postponed because of the Covid pandemic. 'Marakkar' also stars Bollywood's Suniel Shetty, and Keerthy Suresh, who is making a comeback in Malayalam cinema after four years.