December 2026 has four dated Malayalam releases so far, starting with Jayasurya's Mayan: Chapter 1 on December 3 and ending with two films on December 24. Mammootty's Padayaatra with Adoor Gopalakrishnan comes in between on December 4, while the 31st IFFK takes over Thiruvananthapuram from December 11 to 18.
December 2026 Malayalam releases at a glance
- December 3: Mayan: Chapter 1 (Jayasurya, dir. Jithin K Jose)
- December 4: Padayaatra (Mammootty, dir. Adoor Gopalakrishnan)
- December 24: Athimanoharam (Mohanlal, Meera Jasmine, dir. Tharun Moorthy)
- December 24: Coimbatore Mappillaii (Anna Ben, Kishore Rajkumar)
- Expected December: Paripadi (Joju George), no date announced
Mayan: Chapter 1, December 3
Jithin K Jose directs Jayasurya in Mayan: Chapter 1, produced by Rajeev Govindan under the Magic Moon Productions banner. The makers fixed the December 3 worldwide date at the wrap of the shoot, and the first look followed in October. Our Mayan first look story has more on Jayasurya's role.
Padayaatra, December 4
Padayaatra brings Mammootty and Adoor Gopalakrishnan together again after 32 years. It is produced by Mammootty Kampany, and the makers announced the December 4 date with a new poster. It opens on a Friday, a week before IFFK begins.
Athimanoharam and Coimbatore Mappillaii, December 24
Christmas Eve is the busiest date of the month. Tharun Moorthy's Athimanoharam pairs Mohanlal with Meera Jasmine, and Mohanlal posted on X that the first single arrives on November 1 at 10 AM, Kerala Piravi Day. The poster names the song Sundara Ravanan.
@Mohanlal on XView post on X →
Coimbatore Mappillaii, with Anna Ben and Kishore Rajkumar, opens on the same day. That makes December 24 a two-film Malayalam date before the Christmas weekend, and both will share screens with Tamil releases.
Paripadi, expected in December
Paripadi stars Joju George and marks Yuvan Shankar Raja's debut as a composer in Malayalam. It is reported to be slated for December 2026, but the makers have not announced a date yet. Treat it as expected until they do.
The Tamil competition
Two Tamil films will also take Kerala screens. Hello Kaadhal, Arya's 40th film with Nikhila Vimal and Vaishnavi Chaitanya, opens on December 4, the same day as Padayaatra. Jiiva's Thagappan, directed by Ra. Venkat, arrives on December 24 alongside the two Christmas Malayalam releases.
IFFK 2026: December 11 to 18
- Edition: 31st International Film Festival of Kerala
- Dates: December 11 to 18, 2026
- City: Thiruvananthapuram
- Organiser: Kerala State Chalachitra Academy
- New this year: Round-the-clock screenings planned for six days
The festival sits between the Padayaatra weekend and Christmas, so the middle of the month is quieter for big releases. Read about the IFFK all-night screenings for the plan. For the month before, see our November 2026 Malayalam releases list.
More release dates may be added as makers announce them, and we will update this list when they do.
