2 weeks ago

Onam 2026: Prithviraj, Dulquer, Nivin face make-or-break clash

Onam 2026: Prithviraj, Dulquer, Nivin face make-or-break clash
Onam 2026 showdown: Why Prithviraj, Dulquer Salmaan and Nivin Pauly can’t afford to lose · indianexpress.com

Every year, Malayalam movies from Kerala come out during Onam, a big harvest festival with long holidays, because many people go to the cinema then.

This year, three big movies will be released at the same time: Khalifa, I'm Game, and Bethlehem Kudumba Unit.

Three famous actors — Prithviraj, Dulquer, and Nivin — are starring in them.

All three actors really need a hit right now because their recent movies have not done well.

Prithviraj has not had a big critical success since the movie Aadujeevitham.

Dulquer's last Malayalam hit was Kurup, and his big movie King of Kotha flopped badly.

Nivin had a hit called Sarvam Maya, but his next two movies did very poorly.

In the past, superstars Mohanlal and Mammootty used to compete at the Onam box office.

More recently, movies like RDX and Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra won these festive clashes.

Nobody knows yet which movie will win this year's Onam battle.

Key facts

Competing films
Khalifa, I'm Game, Bethlehem Kudumba Unit
Lead actors
Prithviraj Sukumaran, Dulquer Salmaan, Nivin Pauly
Directors
Vysakh (Khalifa), Nahas Hidhayath (I'm Game), Girish AD (Bethlehem Kudumba Unit)
Release window
Onam 2026 festival season, releases within the same week
2025 Onam champion
Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra (Rs 303.86 crore, highest-grossing Malayalam film ever)
2023 Onam champion
RDX, which beat King of Kotha and Ramachandra Boss & Co
Nivin Pauly's recent grosses
Sarvam Maya Rs 151 crore; Baby Girl Rs 4.61 crore; Prathichaya Rs 8.59 crore
Hridayapoorvam worldwide gross
Rs 76.26 crore

Sources

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