Filmmaker Girish AD’s romantic comedy Bethlehem Kudumba Unit has amassed over Rs 300 crore at the worldwide box office, emerging as the highest grossing Malayalam film ever globally. The Nivin Pauly and Mamitha Baiju-starrer has begun receding from cinemas after 40 days, and following its OTT premiere on JioHotstar this past Friday on October 2.

Fahadh Faasil’s clarification on Bethlehem Kudumba Unit global gross

Malayalam superstar Fahadh Faasil, who serves as one of the producers on Bethlehem Kudumba Unit, reacted to the unprecedented Rs 332 crore gross earned by the film, claiming that he or any of the other co-producers would end up receiving only a fraction of that figure. “None of us will get even half of this Rs 300 crore that they are talking about. That is the gross collection,” he argued in a chat with Cue Studio.

Even though Bethlehem Kadamba Unit has earned a worldwide gross of Rs 326 crore, there are a lot of variables at pay. Out of this amount, around half of the chunk usually goes to the international agents, exhibitors, and distributors. Only after deducting the Goods & Services Tax (GST) does the producers get the remainder of the amount.

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In the case of Bethlehem Kadamba Unit, it’s produced by Bhavana Studios, which is owned by the three producers of the film — Fahadh Faasil, actor-filmmaker Dileesh Pothan, and screenwriter Syam Pushkaran. It’s distributed by Bhavana Release, Future RunUp Films, and Mythri Movie Makers, best known for backing Allu Arjun’s blockbuster Telugu action thriller franchise Pushpa.

“The fact that Bethlehem has been a success is something that makes me very happy and proud. It is not just me. There is Girish, Shyam, and Dileesh. I see this as a collective success of all of us. I don’t see it as my success alone,” added Fahadh. It’s co-written by Girish AD and Kiran Josey, and also features an ensemble cast including Suresh Krishna, Vinay Forrt, and Shyam Mohan among others.

Bethlehem Kudumba Unit box office collection

Bethlehem Kudumba Unit released in cinemas on August 21. It scored an opening day of 4.90 crore from 1507 screens at the domestic box office. It earned over Rs 20 crore during its opening weekend, and over Rs 50 crore in its opening week. It slipped down marginally to Rs 49.85 crore in its second week, and Rs 33.30 crore in the third week, as per Sacnilk.

By the end of the second week, Bethlehem Kudumba Unit had crossed the Rs 100 crore mark at the domestic box office. Its fourth week earnings dropped by almost half to Rs 16.79 crore, and by another half to Rs 8.80 crore in week 5. By the end of its sixth week, the film has earned over Rs 190 crore gross and over Rs 160 crore net in India.

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Majority of these figures stem from the native Malayalam version, followed by the dubbed Tamil and Telugu versions in equal capacity. But Bethlehem Kudumba Unit has garnered most of its worldwide box office gross earnings from overseas, where it amassed around Rs 140 crore, only around Rs 25 crore short of its domestic net earnings.

In the process, Bethlehem Kudumba Unit’s Rs 330 crore plus worldwide box office collection has made it the highest grossing Malayalam film ever globally, after surpassing that of Dominic Arun’s superhero film from last year, Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra. The Kalyani Priyadarshan-starrer, produced by Dulquer Salmaan’s Wayfarer Films, earned around Rs 304 crore globally.