Director Girish AD's film Bethlehem Kudumba Unit, featuring Nivin Pauly and Mamitha Baiju in the lead roles, continues its dream start at the box office. After releasing on Friday and earning highly positive reviews from both critics and general audiences, the film earned 15.70 crore on day one itself, with 10 crore coming from the overseas markets, according to Sacnilk data.

Thus, it became the highest-grossing film in terms of opening day collections in Nivin's career. On the second day of its release, it earned 13 crore from theatres outside of India, and by then, its gross collection at the India box office jumped to 14.05 crore. This takes the overall Bethlehem Kudumba Unit box office collection to 37.25 crore.

The remarkable opening has been attributed to Nivin Pauly's rising stocks as an actor and a star. At one of the recent promotional events for the film, a youngster told Nivin that he is the only actor in Malayalam cinema outside of Mohanlal who could cause a storm at the box office through positive word of mouth on release date. The comment brought a big smile on Nivin's face.

It is worth noting that, despite his remarkable career that includes several blockbusters and critically acclaimed films, Mammootty is yet to enter the 100-crore club. Of course, if you adjust for inflation, several of his past films would cross the 100-crore mark, but none of his releases has technically grossed more than that at the global box office.

Nivin's film has also proven a strong competitor for Prithviraj Sukumaran's Khalifa. According to the official data from the makers, Khalifa earned 22.85 crore from theatres worldwide on the first two days of its release. It remains to be seen how both films will fare at the box office this Onam season.