Drishyam 3, the third instalment in director Jeethu Joseph's celebrated Malayalam crime thriller franchise starring Mohanlal, delivered a landmark opening on Thursday, May 21, emerging as one of the biggest single-day earners in Mollywood history. Multiplex chains including PVR Inox, Cinepolis, and regional Kerala circuits reported near-capacity occupancy for morning and afternoon shows, with evening screenings selling out across major cities including Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode, and Chennai.

Industry trackers estimated Day One net collections in the range of ₹18–22 crore across all languages and territories, a figure that would place the film among the top Malayalam openings ever recorded. The result confirmed the extraordinary advance booking momentum that had been building since ticket windows opened earlier in the month, with the film having already crossed ₹2 crore in pre-sales before its release date.

Overseas markets proved equally emphatic. North American premiere screenings, which began on Wednesday evening, drew sold-out crowds in cities with large Malayali diaspora populations including New Jersey, Houston, and the Greater Toronto Area. The film had already set records as the second-fastest Malayalam production to sell 1,000 premiere tickets in the United States, and Thursday's full rollout built substantially on that base.

Director Jeethu Joseph and lead actor Mohanlal both took to social media to thank audiences, with Mohanlal posting a brief video message acknowledging the response as 'humbling and beyond expectation.' Producer Antony Perumbavoor of Aashirvad Cinemas confirmed that additional show slots were being negotiated with multiplex operators in Maharashtra and Karnataka to meet demand in non-traditional Mollywood markets.

Critics and audiences alike responded warmly to the film's third-act reveals, with early social media reactions praising Mohanlal's restrained performance and Jeethu Joseph's tightly constructed screenplay. With the opening weekend still ahead, trade analysts projected a total first-week global gross that could approach ₹100 crore, which would represent a historic milestone for the Malayalam film industry.