The Kerala Story 2: Low ticket sales, cancellations, DYFI protests mark first day of film's release

Thiruvananthapuram/Kochi/Kozhikode: A day after the Kerala High Court paved the way for the release of 'The Kerala Story 2: Goes Beyond', ticket sales remained slow, though theatre owners on Saturday said they are expected to pick up in the coming days.

Meanwhile, activists of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) staged protests outside theatres screening the film across the state, saying they would not allow its screening as it allegedly depicts Kerala in a bad light.

The protests led to the cancellation of shows in several theatres in Kochi, Kozhikode and Kottayam.

DYFI leaders said they were not against moviegoers or theatre owners, but were protesting against the film for allegedly tarnishing the state’s image.

Visuals on television channels showed protesters shouting slogans and tearing down posters at theatres screening the film.

Ticket sales did not show significant improvement during the day, except in a few theatres, according to cinema hall owners.

In Kochi, Shenoy Theatre, which witnessed protests in the morning, saw some improvement in bookings later in the day, its owner Suresh said.

In Kozhikode, Crown Theatre owner Vinod Iyer said the noon show had only around 20–25 bookings, and subsequent screenings were cancelled due to protests.

He added that ticket sales did not improve during the day, and a decision on evening shows was yet to be taken in view of the protests.

In Kottayam, a show at Anaswara Theatre was stopped by DYFI protesters, with only 24 people turning up for the screening. Evening and night shows were later cancelled.

According to figures on the online ticket booking platform BookMyShow, sales were very low in several theatres in Thiruvananthapuram in the morning.

At a PVR theatre in Lulu Mall, there were only 68 bookings till 10 am for the four shows scheduled for the day. Suresh said there were around 50 per cent bookings in the morning for the four shows scheduled during the day.

“The bookings are higher for the evening and night shows,” he told PTI.

He added that the number of shows in the coming days would be decided based on first-day ticket sales.

Suresh also noted that the first film, The Kerala Story, had a slow start when it was released in 2023, but collections improved later.

Iyer echoed a similar trend but described current bookings as “very poor” for all four shows scheduled in his theatre.

He said the late opening of bookings on Friday and audience hesitation pending reviews could be reasons for the low turnout.

“Hopefully, things will improve in the coming days, as they did the first time,” Iyer said.

A division bench of the Kerala High Court on Friday stayed a single judge’s order that had put the film’s release on hold for 15 days.

The bench said the single judge’s finding that certification guidelines were not followed by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) was based “merely on a few clippings and without viewing the movie” and therefore “cannot be countenanced”.

It further said that once a certificate is issued, there is a prima facie presumption that the authority has taken into account all guidelines, including public order.

“In light of the aforesaid discussions, we are of the view that the impugned order dated February 26, 2026, interdicting the release of the movie is liable to be stayed,” the bench said, while allowing an appeal filed by producer Vipul Amrutlal Shah.

The single judge had earlier observed that there was a prima facie non-application of mind by the CBFC.

The judge also said there was a "possibility of communal disharmony or denigration of a community" and that releasing the film without scrutiny by higher authorities would be legally improper.

The court had further observed that the film’s teaser had "a prima facie potential to distort public perception and disturb communal harmony.