'Drishyam 3' Crosses Rs 330 Crore, Locks Prime Video Premiere for 18 June

The cat-and-mouse saga that began over a decade ago has delivered its biggest box-office chapter yet. 'Drishyam 3', the latest instalment of the Malayalam thriller franchise headlined by Mohanlal, has crossed Rs 330 crore worldwide, the makers confirmed this week. The figure caps a remarkable run for one of Indian cinema's most enduring thriller properties.

Released on 21 May, on Mohanlal's 66th birthday, the Jeethu Joseph-directed film reportedly raced past Rs 100 crore in just 58 hours and breached Rs 200 crore inside its first week, overtaking the lifetime totals of its two predecessors to become the highest-grossing film in the series. Timing the release to the star's birthday tapped into a devoted fan base and helped the film open to a wave of demand.

A franchise built on twists

Once again the story turns on Georgekutty, the cinema-obsessed family man whose talent for covering his tracks keeps investigators a step behind. The character has been at the heart of the franchise since the original, and his particular brand of quiet ingenuity — using his love of films to outmanoeuvre the law — is the device that has carried the series across instalments.

The sustained word of mouth around its twist-laden plot has been credited for the long legs at the box office before the digital bow. In a franchise defined by its surprises, audiences' eagerness to experience the turns firsthand, and the difficulty of avoiding spoilers, has helped power both strong openings and durable holds.

Streaming date confirmed

With the theatrical run maturing, the film will premiere on Amazon Prime Video on 18 June, less than a month after hitting cinemas. The relatively short gap between theatrical release and streaming reflects a now-common strategy of capitalising on a film's peak buzz before moving it to a digital audience.

It streams in the original Malayalam alongside dubbed Tamil, Telugu and Kannada versions, widening its reach to a pan-Indian audience that followed the earlier films on the same platform. Offering multiple dubbed versions extends the franchise's footprint well beyond its home market and serves viewers across the country who have tracked the series over the years.

• Released 21 May, on Mohanlal's 66th birthday.
• Past Rs 100 crore in 58 hours; over Rs 200 crore in the first week.
• Crossed Rs 330 crore worldwide, the franchise's biggest earner.
• Streams on Amazon Prime Video from 18 June in Malayalam plus dubbed Tamil, Telugu and Kannada.

Why it matters and the outlook

The result confirms the commercial pull of a long-running, content-led thriller franchise and the continued box-office strength of Malayalam cinema beyond its home state. A film driven by writing and suspense rather than large-scale action reaching these numbers underlines how storytelling can translate into pan-Indian appeal.

The outlook now shifts to streaming, where the multilingual release is positioned to reach the wide audience that followed the earlier films online. With its theatrical record secured as the series' highest earner, 'Drishyam 3' moves to Prime Video as both a proven box-office success and a likely strong performer in homes across the country.

The NE Times View

A near month-long theatrical run before a mid-June OTT drop is the franchise getting the windowing right — it protects cinema earnings while feeding streaming demand. Drishyam's strength has always been airtight writing, and becoming the series' top earner suggests audiences still trust Mohanlal's Georgekutty. The streaming move will only widen a fanbase the theatrical numbers have already proven.

This article is original commentary and analysis by The NE Times. Background facts were referenced from Gulf News, Filmibeat and India TV.