Girish AD's Bethlehem Kudumba Unit (BKU), starring Nivin Pauly and Mamitha Baiju, has created history at the box office. The romantic comedy has reportedly crossed the ₹300-crore mark worldwide on Sunday, its 24th day in cinemas, and overtaken the Kalyani Priyadarshan-starrer Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra to become the highest-grossing Malayalam film of all time.
Industry tracker What The Fuss broke the update on X (formerly Twitter), reporting that BKU has become only the second Malayalam film after Lokah to breach the ₹300-crore mark, and the fastest to do so. The tracker has projected an end-of-day worldwide gross of around ₹305 crore, against Lokah's reported lifetime tally of ₹302.65 crore.
According to What The Fuss, Lokah took 45 days to reach the ₹300-crore mark. BKU has thus achieved the milestone 21 days faster, while also claiming the all-time worldwide box-office record from the Dominic Arun directorial, which had held the crown since last year.
BKU's historic run has been powered by an exceptional performance in Kerala. The reported figures put its gross box office collection in the state at ₹134.13 crore through Day 23. The film had already emerged as the highest-grossing Malayalam film in Kerala earlier this month, overtaking Vaazha II: Biopic of a Billion Bros's reported Kerala gross of around ₹126 crore.
Separately, industry tracker Sacnilk placed Bethlehem Kudumba Unit's collection after 23 days at ₹165.60 crore from India and ₹132.50 crore from overseas markets, taking its worldwide gross to ₹298.10 crore. India accounted for 55.55 per cent of the total, while the overseas markets contributed the remaining 44.45 per cent. The overseas performance has been particularly notable, with the film's reported international gross running almost level with its domestic collection.
The latest achievement marks another change at the top of the Malayalam box office in less than a year. Lokah had emerged as the industry hit in September 2025, surpassing Mohanlal's L2: Empuraan after grossing over ₹267 crore worldwide in its first 24 days. The fantasy superhero film went on to finish with a reported worldwide gross of ₹302.65 crore.
Lokah's reign in Kerala, however, ended in April this year, when Vaazha 2 overtook its collection in the state. The achievement was particularly noteworthy given that the Savin SA directorial was driven largely by newcomers rather than established stars. Despite its Kerala success, Vaazha 2 remained well behind Lokah globally, with its worldwide collection reported at around ₹235.45 crore.
With BKU now surpassing both records, tracker AB George has placed the film at the top of a list of Malayalam cinema's highest-grossing films since 2000. In a tweet celebrating the achievement, the tracker noted that the record has passed through films such as Narasimham, Rajamanikyam, Classmates, Twenty20, Drishyam, Premam, Pulimurugan, 2018, Manjummel Boys, Empuraan and Lokah, before BKU became the latest film to claim it in 2026.
George also pointed to the frequency with which the record has changed hands in recent years, describing it as "five record breakers in the last five years", while celebrating the continued growth of Malayalam cinema despite its relatively smaller home market, lower average ticket prices and comparatively modest budgets.
And with BKU's theatrical run still underway, the Dileesh Pothan-Syam Pushkaran-Fahadh Faasil trio of Bhavana Studios could have further milestones to chase before its run concludes.
