Drishyam 3 (2026)Box Office Collection: India & Worldwide

Release

Thursday, 21 May 2026

Language

Malayalam

Genre

Thriller,Crime

Runtime

2h 39m

Certificate

UA16+

Drishyam 3 is the highly anticipated third installment of the iconic Indian Malayalam-language crime thriller franchise, written and directed by Jeethu Joseph. The film marks the grand return of Mohanlal as the mastermind family man Georgekutty. It officially released in theaters on May 21, 2026 (coinciding with Mohanlal's birthday) in its original Malayalam version, alongside dubbed releases in Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada. Core Details & Production The film runs for 159 minutes (2 hours, 39 minutes) and was produced by Antony Perumbavoor under the Aashirvad Cinemas banner, with Panorama Studios and Pen Studios presenting after investing approximately ₹100 crore into the production ecosystem. Principal photography for the project wrapped up between September 22 and December 2, 2025, operating on a production budget of roughly ₹16 crore. Plot & Character Dynamics The narrative picks up right from where Drishyam 2 left off. Georgekutty and his family continue to be relentlessly haunted by the secrets of their past. This time around, they face an even more dangerous, escalated threat as legal and police forces tighten the noose. While Jeethu Joseph initially stated that this script might not completely close the book on Georgekutty, subsequent updates indicated that he has structured this narrative to bring a definitive end to the gripping cinematic saga. The Returning & New Cast The thriller reunites the franchise's essential ensemble cast while injecting fresh dynamic elements: Mohanlal as Georgekutty Meena as Rani (Georgekutty's wife) Ansiba Hassan as Anju & Esther Anil as Anu (their daughters) Siddique as Prabhakar & Asha Sharath as Geetha Prabhakar Murali Gopy as IG Thomas Bastin IPS Veena Nandakumar joins the franchise in a pivotal new role that shifts the narrative weight of the investigation. Box Office Momentum & Pre-Release Buzz Because suspense thrillers typically rely on word-of-mouth rather than massive front-loaded action spectacles, Drishyam 3's pre-release performance has absolutely stunned trade analysts: Advance Bookings: The film crossed over ₹21 crore gross in worldwide pre-sales before its first show. Kerala led the domestic market with over ₹5.50 crore, selling hundreds of thousands of tickets on BookMyShow. Opening Day Projections: Global tracking suggests an opening day tracking towards a massive ₹35+ crore gross worldwide, propelled heavily by sold-out fan shows across Kerala and phenomenal tracking in the GCC (Gulf) market, North America, and the UK. OTT & Digital Rights Controversy The film's digital streaming rights have already been a major talking point. Amazon Prime Video holds the sole and exclusive streaming rights for Drishyam 3. Following reports of independent third-party negotiations by the producers, Amazon Prime Video took legal action and secured an interim injunction from the Delhi High Court protecting its exclusive streaming window. The movie is expected to drop on Prime Video around late June or early July 2026, honoring a standard 30-to-35-day theatrical window. What about the Hindi Remake? Producers Kumar Mangat Pathak and Abhishek Pathak (Panorama Studios) have confirmed that the Hindi version starring Ajay Devgn is slated for release on October 2, 2026. Notably, they have stated that the Hindi version will feature distinct screenplay deviations and changes rather than being a scene-by-scene direct remake of the Malayalam original to suit its respective audience profile.