Just days after Mohanlal's Drishyam 3 received its U/A 13+ certificate from the Central Board of Film Certification, multiplex chains across India opened advance booking windows on Saturday, May 9, triggering a wave of early purchases that industry trackers are calling one of the strongest pre-sales for a Malayalam-language film in recent memory. PVR Inox and Cinepolis outlets in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and key diaspora hubs in the UAE reported their prime-time May 21 slots filling within hours of going live.
The film, directed by Jeethu Joseph — who helmed both previous installments of the franchise — reunites the core cast including Meena, Ansiba Hassan, and Esther Anil alongside Mohanlal's iconic Georgekutty. The CBFC's U/A 13+ rating, announced Friday, was seen as favourable by distributors who had feared a stricter certification might limit family audiences, a demographic central to the franchise's enormous earlier success.
Drishyam 2, released on Amazon Prime Video in 2021 after a direct-to-streaming pivot during the pandemic, subsequently became one of the platform's most-watched Malayalam films and introduced the franchise to a far wider South Asian and international audience. That expanded fanbase is now being credited with the unusually broad geographic distribution Drishyam 3 is receiving, with the film confirmed for wide release in the United States, Canada, Australia, and Gulf countries in addition to its pan-India theatrical run.
Industry analysts tracking BookMyShow data noted on Saturday that Drishyam 3 was trending as the top searched title on the platform, with a significant share of bookings coming from non-Kerala markets — a pattern previously seen only with pan-Indian crossover productions. Trade observers are projecting a first-day Kerala collection in the range of ₹8–12 crore, with overall opening-day figures potentially approaching ₹18–22 crore if momentum holds through the remaining pre-release period.
The production house Aashirvad Cinemas, which has backed all three Drishyam films, released a new still on social media Saturday morning showing Mohanlal in a contemplative pose that quickly trended across Malayalam cinema fan communities. With nearly two weeks remaining until release, the buzz surrounding the film is expected to intensify further as the team prepares a promotional circuit across major cities next week.