Nivin Pauly criticised the Kerala Film Producers’ Association’s box office list, calling it unnecessary and harmful to the industry. The list sparked debate after only 15 out of 184 Malayalam films released in 2025 were declared hits
Nivin Pauly
With the year coming to an end, the Kerala Film Producers’ Association released a list detailing the box office performance of all Malayalam films released in 2025. Actor Nivin Pauly, who is currently basking in the success of his recently released film Sarvam Maya, shared his thoughts on the list, stating that it was unnecessary and could negatively impact the future business of the industry.
Nivin Pauly on producer association's list
At a press event for the horror comedy Sarvam Maya, Nivin said, “Every business has its ups and downs, profit and loss. There is no need to make a list like this public. Something like this has not been done before.”
The list was unveiled before the release of Nivin's film Sarvam Maya that is seeing a steady and promising growth at the box office.
About the producers list
The list segregated films into hits and superhits, sparking a debate on social media, with netizens questioning its merit. Out of the 184 Malayalam films released in theatres this year, only 15 were declared successful. According to the association, nine films were classified as superhits and six as hits, highlighting a sharp disparity between the number of releases and profitability.
Only three films crossed the Rs 100-crore mark at the box office in 2025—Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra with Rs 303.67 crore, L2: Empuraan with Rs 265.5 crore, and Thudarum with Rs 234.5 crore.
Other films listed among the successful releases include Dies Irae, Alappuzh Gymkhana, Hridayapoorvam, Officer on Duty, Rekhachitram, and Kalamkaval. Films such as Eko, Pet Detective, Prince and Family, Ponman, Padakkalam, and Bromance were categorised as hits.
Narivetta producer questions list
Following the release of the list, director Anuraj Manohar questioned why his film Narivetta, starring Tovino Thomas, was excluded despite being profitable. He also raised concerns about the selection criteria in a social media post.
“The announcement came at a time when I was in the process of doing another film with the same producer. I would really like to know their criteria for judging success and failure. It is not just about my film, but other films like Ponman and Ronth, which I know made profits, were also missing from the list of successful films,” he said.
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