South India box office hits 2026: Ram Charan’s ‘Peddy’ tops list; ‘Drishyam 3’ and ‘Karuppu’ a hit | Malayalam Movie News
The first half of 2026 saw several major theatrical successes in the South Indian film industry. Telugu cinema is ahead of the competition with multiple blockbusters, while Malayalam cinema continues to excel as always with sequels and content-driven entertainers. The Tamil film was also a huge commercial success, marking superstar Surya’s comeback after a series of lackluster films. “Peddi” tops the list. The Tamil film was also a huge commercial success, marking superstar Surya’s comeback after a series of lackluster films.
“Peddie” tops the list
Topping the list is Ram Charan’s “Peddi”. The sports drama has become the highest-grossing South Indian film this year, with a global box office collection of between Rs 332 crore and Rs 378 crore.As per Sacnilk’s latest estimates, ‘Peddi’ recorded 20.8% growth on day 23, taking its India net revenue to nearly Rs 240 crore and its total India revenue to nearly Rs 282 crore. It contributed over Rs 193 crore in just one week of opening. Despite mixed reviews and controversy surrounding Janhvi Kapoor’s character, Peddy ended up being the number one box office hit.
‘Karuppu’, ‘Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu’ and Malayalam winners
Suriya’s ‘Karuppu’ became the most successful film of 2026 in Tamil cinema. The fantasy action film has grossed approximately Rs 304-340 crore at the global box office. It has become the biggest success of Surya’s career.Sacnilk reported day 28 net revenue in India of Rs 37 lakh. The latest data shows that its Indian net income is close to 1.95 billion rupees, total revenue in India is about 2.26 billion rupees, total overseas revenue is 810 million rupees, and total global revenue is close to 3.06 billion rupees.Chiranjeevi’s Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu also created a buzz in theaters. The family entertainment film, which was released during the Sankrant festival, grossed over Rs 32 crore at the box office in its debut and crossed Rs 300 crore at the global box office. The film grossed close to Rs 158 crore in its first week in India and maintained steady collections throughout the festive period.Malayalam cinema has achieved two of the biggest commercial successes of the year. Mohanlal’s “Drishyam 3” has collected around Rs 238-242 crore at the global box office. Strong overseas support and franchises helped the thriller become one of Mollywood’s biggest revenue generators, although the film received mixed reviews and mostly disappointment from audiences.“Vaazha II: The Biopic of a Billion Brothers” followed closely behind and collected between Rs 234 crore and Rs 236 crore at the global box office. The emotional family entertainer has benefited greatly from the excellent word-of-mouth after its launch on India Network and grossed Rs 475 crore at the box office. Looking at content quality and box office collection, Vaazha 2 can rank above all other Malayalam films in the first half of 2026.
‘Aadu 3’, ‘Anaganaga Oka Raju’ and ‘Youth’ surprise deals
Jayasurya’s Aadu 3 continues the successful legacy of the series, having collected close to Rs 120 crore at the global box office. The comedy entertainer did well in Kerala and collected around Rs 6 crore at the box office in India after its premiere.Another surprising success came from Naveen Polishetty’s “Anaganaga Oka Raju”. The comedy was made on a limited budget of nearly Rs 8 crore but grossed between Rs 84 crore and Rs 100 crore at the global box office.Tamil Cinema also celebrated the success of Ken Karunas’ Youth, which also marked Suraj Venjaramoodu’s first Tamil blockbuster. The low-budget film grossed Rs 68-77 crore at the global box office.
Big-budget movies fail to hit the mark
Not every major release will meet expectations in the first half of 2026.Prabhas’ The RajaSaab opened strongly, raking in nearly Rs 45 crore net in India, including preview series. However, the high-budget romantic horror comedy has reportedly grossed around Rs 208 crore at the global box office, which is much lower than expected considering its huge production cost.Pawan Kalyan’s “Ustaad Bhagat Singh” also struggled despite raking in Rs 34.75 crore on its first day. The film grossed around Rs 97 crore at the global box office but was widely considered a commercial disappointment.Other Telugu releases, including “Dacoit”, “Raakaasa” and “Biker”, also failed to maintain momentum after their initial releases. Their global collection value remains around Rs 57 crore, Rs 22 crore and Rs 18 crore respectively.The Malayalam film “Kataran” from the makers of “Marco” also performed poorly despite debuting at a net box office of around Rs 34 crore in India. Antony Varghese’s film eventually released globally and collected Rs 8-10 crore at the box office.Judging from the first half viewing reports, Telugu films dominated the overall box office, although the box office hit films did not satisfy the audience too much. Malayalam cinema has also surprised the audience with unexpected blockbusters like Wazaa 2.Tamil cinema too has had an encouraging year with films like ‘Karuppu’ and ‘Youth’ and with ‘Jailer 2’, ‘Daman’ and many more highly-anticipated films releasing in the second half of the year, the industry seems to be in a safe zone.
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