Onam Box Office 2026: Nivin Pauly's Bethlehem Kudumba Unit eyes Rs 1 billion worldwide, Khalifa holds steady

Kerala's Onam season has delivered its usual box office showdown, and this year it's gangster kingpin drama Khalifa: The Ruler versus small-town romance Bethlehem Kudumba Unit — two films that couldn't be more different, and audiences are voting with their wallets.

Khalifa: Power, legacy, and gold

Directed by Vysakh, Khalifa follows Aamir Ali (Prithviraj Sukumaran), a carefree young man from Koduvally who runs a textile shop and lives a modest life with his parents. Circumstances pull him into Kerala's gold smuggling underworld, forcing him to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather, a legendary smuggler known as Khalifa. Cue, a tangle of vengeance, inheritance, and power as Aamir inherits and must defend, a multimillion-dollar criminal empire. The film also stars Mohanlal, Tovino Thomas and Krithi Shetty.

At the box office, the film is holding steady rather than surging. According to Sacnilk, Khalifa earned an estimated Rs 1.88 crore net in India on its fourth day, screened across 1,317 shows, a marginal 1.1% dip from Saturday's Rs 1.90 crore. Four days in, its India net collection stands at Rs 11.53 crore, with a gross of Rs 13.43 crore domestically and Rs 14.25 crore overseas, pushing its worldwide gross to Rs 27.68 crore.

Bethlehem Kudumba Unit: Guitars, small towns, and slow-burn romance

Girish A.D.'s Bethlehem Kudumba Unit centers on Justin (Nivin Pauly), a man edging toward middle age and still unmarried, whose life shifts when Ashley (Mamitha Baiju) moves in next door. Set in small-town Angamaly, the story kicks into gear when Justin recognises the band on Ashley's phone wallpaper — a connection that draws the unlikely pair together. Director Girish A.D. keeps the drama light, leaning on quirky supporting characters and humor rather than manufactured conflict.

The film is riding real momentum. It collected an estimated Rs 8.80 crore net in India on Sunday across 1,781 shows — a 23.1% jump over Saturday's Rs 7.15 crore. Its worldwide gross has now crossed Rs 61.05 crore.