The dark comedy Mollywood Times has had a strong start, taking ₹8.45 crore worldwide in its first two days. Directed by Abhinav Sunder Nayak of Mukundan Unni Associates fame, the film opened on Friday, June 5, 2026, without a conventional trailer, and has ridden urban curiosity and good evening multiplex turnout to a healthy opening.
A big second-day jump
After a first-day gross of about ₹2.09 crore worldwide, the film jumped on Saturday. Kerala led the way, with night-time occupancy in single screens and multiplexes touching around 58 percent. It also did notable business in Karnataka, with steady numbers from Tamil Nadu and the Telugu states, and promising holds overseas in the Gulf, North America and the UK — underlining Naslen’s growing reach.
The no-trailer gamble
The opening has vindicated the film’s unusual release strategy. Nayak had drawn criticism online when he announced there would be no pre-release trailer, asking audiences to go in blind to preserve the surprises. Written by Ramu Sunil, the film follows Vineeth Madhavan (Naslen), a young man from Kuttikkanam who dreams of becoming Malayalam cinema’s top horror filmmaker, inspired by M. Night Shyamalan, only to run into the harsh realities of the industry.
Reviews have been sharply divided, which has only fed the word of mouth. The Hollywood Reporter India called it “inescapist cinema at its brutal best,” in line with the film’s billing as a “hate letter to cinema.” India Today and The Times of India praised Naslen’s performance and a supporting cast that includes Sharaf U Dheen and Sangeeth Prathap, though some noted the 165-minute-plus runtime makes the second half drag. With strong Day 3 advance bookings, the Ashiq Usman Productions film looks set for a big Sunday to close out its opening weekend.
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