The advance booking for L2: Empuraan has turned out to be nothing short of a sensation. Being a sequel to Lucifer, expectations were high, but no one anticipated the film selling over 90,000 tickets in just an hour on BookMyShow.
The total ticket sales crossed 6.25 lakh, generating an advance booking collection of 10.40 crores gross. These are staggering numbers for any Indian film, let alone a Malayalam one.
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However, with such huge numbers, trade discussions around self-bookings and corporate bookings have also surfaced in trade circles and on social media. Even Bollywood and Telugu biggies struggle to reach these numbers on day one of advance sales.
The practice of corporate and self-bookings has often been called out in Bollywood when films like Pathaan, Chhaava, Dunki, Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahani, and Bade Miyan Chote Miyan were accused of similar tactics, even though those accounted for only 5-10% of total sales.
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In the case of Empuraan, it seems the self-bookings have touched the level of Sky Force, where more than 50% of the ticket sales were rigged, according to experts like Komal Nahta.
One trade expert on social media wrote, “The film is already getting a lot of advance bookings. So there is really no reason to make corporate bookings. This is totally unnecessary. Don’t overdo corporate bookings so much that it becomes clear to even the common public.”
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A few industry insiders are questioning how L2: Empuraan could sell over 600,000 tickets in a region where even the biggest Malayalam openers struggle to touch half that number in advance bookings.
However, the real test will be in the film’s footfalls post-release. If Empuraan sustains strong occupancies after day one, it will validate the genuine interest among audiences. However, if the film witnesses a sharp drop post the initial weekend, it would further fuel speculation about manipulated bookings.
If the film delivers on content, the advance booking controversy will fade. But if it underperforms, the debate over artificial hype will only grow louder.
