While Dhurandhar 2 and Ustaad Bhagat Singh grabbed the spotlight with their wide releases, a Malayalam film that arrived on the same day has quietly made its presence felt. Aadu 3: One Last Ride – Part 1, a fantasy comedy, is now drawing attention for its unexpected momentum.
Despite limited reach outside Malayalam-speaking regions, the film is showing strong traction in ticket sales. This momentum is not limited to a single day, as Aadu 3 has consistently registered higher ticket sales than Ustaad Bhagat Singh over the past few days. In the last 24 hours alone, Aadu 3 recorded around 148.82K tickets on BookMyShow, comfortably ahead of the 84.98K tickets sold by the Telugu film. The contrast is notable, considering the scale, star value, and wider market access enjoyed by Ustaad Bhagat Singh.
This is less about comparison and more about how audience interest can build in different ways. Aadu 3 appears to be benefiting from steady word of mouth and franchise recall, allowing it to punch above its weight in terms of engagement.
Directed by Midhun Manuel Thomas, the film stars Jayasurya along with Saiju Kurup, Vinayakan, Renji Panicker, Vijay Babu, Sunny Wayne, and Dharmajan. Made on a reported budget of Rs. 40-50 crore, it is estimated to have crossed Rs. 70-80K crore worldwide in its first weekend.