From Silence To Spectacle: Malayalam Cinema’s Most Anticipated Films Of 2026 |
Beyond hype and opening weekends, here’s a look at the films we’re waiting for — and the faith we’re placing in them. Neelima Menon writes.
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NOT ALL FILMS ARE AWAITED for the same reasons. Some arrive on the strength of silence and trust, others on hype, algorithms, or sheer star power. As Malayalam cinema heads into 2026, this isn’t a list of the “biggest” films, but a map of anticipation itself, who is waiting, why, and with what hopes, fears, and quiet prayers. The film cinephiles are quietly claiming: Mollywood Times Headlined by Naslen Gafoor, this film carries a certain inevitability of curiosity. Considering the director’s (Abhinav Sunder Nayak) debut, Mukundan Unni Associates (2022), was an edgy dark comedy that unapologetically embraced moral greyness and still let its characters triumph, expectations around his second film are understandably high. With the season’s flavour Naslen fronting what appears to be a meta-narrative (its tagline cheekily calling it “A Hate letter to cinema”), cinephiles are certainly not expecting anything conventional. Stream the latest Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada releases, with OTTplay Premium's Power Play monthly pack, for only Rs 149. |
The film awaited by fan clubs: I Am Game For one, this Dulquer Salmaan-starrer marks the sophomore outing of Nahas Hidayath, whose debut RDX, a slick, well-packaged revenge drama with crowd-pleasing stunts, sparked a minor box-office storm. More importantly, for DQ fans, this film feels like a moment of retribution after the underwhelming performance of his last Malayalam outing, King of Kotha. Promising to be sleek, stylish, and unabashedly mainstream, I Am Game appears tailored to flex his superstardom and reassert his box-office pull, which is exactly the kind of vehicle his fan base has been waiting for. The film that will be explained to death: I, Nobody Nissam Basheer’s next is headlined by Prithviraj Sukumaran and Parvathy Thiruvothu. Reportedly a thriller laced with family drama and socio-political undercurrents, the buzz around the film has less to do with its premise and more with the pedigree behind it. The writer (Sameer Abdul) — director duo’s previous outing, Rorschach, went on to become a Letterboxd favourite, thanks largely to its layered subtext and Mammootty’s strikingly grey, against-the-grain performance that gleefully upended familiar tropes. Naturally, their next collaboration is being awaited not just to be watched, but to be paused, dissected, and decoded at leisure. ALSO FROM THE AUTHOR | Three Years Later, Rorschach Refuses To Fade |
The film the audience is chasing: Drishyam 3 When it comes to the Drishyam franchise, Jeethu Joseph (who has stumbled elsewhere) has been in beast mode, never missing a beat so far. Add to that Mohanlal slipping into Georgekutty with effortless ease, and the upcoming instalment feels like a near no-brainer. Whether there's a trailer or not, the audience will still show up, because this is cinema reduced to its purest signal. The film that could surprise everyone: Chatha Pacha: The Ring of Rowdies An action comedy directed by Adwaith Nayar about a bunch of misfits who come together to form a wrestling club in Fort Kochi, the film promises comical chaos with a side of survival drama. The trailer is colourful, massy, fun, and just unpredictable enough to keep you guessing. With a clutch of exciting young talents at the helm and a rumoured cameo by one of our superstars, this could well be the year’s surprise packet. |
The film we trust the process on: Bethlehem Kudumba Unit With Girish AD, it’s always emotion over spectacle and that has somehow consistently worked. From Premalu and Super Sharanya to Thanneer Mathan Dinangal, he has an uncanny knack for finding relatability in everyday characters, lived-in spaces, and moments that feel comfortably ordinary. So when he teams up with Nivin Pauly and Mamita Baiju, it feels safe to assume that the formula will click again, especially given the easy, instinctive grammar Girish shares with Nivin. ALSO READ | Stories That Endured, Defining Malayalam Cinema In 2025 The film awaited with a prayer (Please be good!): Patriot Any film that brings Mammootty and Mohanlal together after a long gap (last was Twenty:20) is bound to generate deafening hype. Add Fahadh Faasil, Kunchacko Boban and Nayanthara to the mix, and the excitement feels almost preordained. What tempers it slightly is the director. Mahesh Narayanan has largely operated outside mainstream territory, and his lone attempt at going big with Malik didn’t quite land as intended. The real curiosity, then, is how he chooses to position these two superstars. Going by the trailer, he seems firmly rooted in his aesthetic instincts, which is both reassuring and a little nerve-racking. So Patriot is being awaited the only way it can be: with high hopes and a quiet prayer that it all comes together. |
The film that bets on spectacle, and somehow still earns our anticipation: Khalifa Prithviraj Sukumaran teams up with Vysakh, who is known for his unapologetically local, larger-than-life crowd-pleasers ( Pulimurugan, Pokkiri Raja, Turbo). This time, though, Vysakh appears to be stepping slightly out of his comfort zone. Khalifa seems mounted on a broader canvas, less rooted in local flavour and more in scale. But at its core, it looks like a straightforward good-versus-evil tale, with all the familiar ingredients of a full-blown action masala. What you would call a theatrical watch! And, of course, the promise of a Mohanlal cameo only sweetens the deal. The film we’re trusting the technicians to elevate: Balan The entire Manjummel Boys technical dream team is back — director Chidambaram, cinematographer Shyju Khalid, composer Sushin Shyam, production designer Ajayan Chalissery, and editor Vivek Harshan. The writing comes from Jithu Madhavan, who went on to direct Aavesham (even if his screenplay for Painkili didn’t quite excite). Balan is said to feature a limited set of characters and a largely fresh cast. And with Chidambaram’s two films so far, Jan.E. Man and Manjummel Boys, still very much in the conversation, expectations here feel firmly sealed |
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