From Lokah to Feminichi Fathima, SCREEN picks top Malayalam films of 2025.
Top 10 Malayalam movies of 2025: Although 2025 wasn’t as eventful for Malayalam cinema as 2024, mainly because the number of phenomenal hits and impressive works dipped, the year nonetheless saw the industry expand its horizons at the box office, entering the Rs 300 crore club for the first time. Subsequently, Malayalam cinema also made strides at the 71st National Film Awards, with Mohanlal earning the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, actors Vijayaraghavan and Urvashi bagging trophies for their performances, and movies like Ullozhukku and Pookkaalam winning big. However, one can’t deny that there was a significant dearth of impressive mainstream movies, as well as out-of-the-box films, that made an impact at the box office, such as last year’s Manjummel Boys, Aavesham, Premalu, Ajayante Randam Moshanam (ARM), and Guruvayoor Ambalanadayil, The Goat Life, Bramayugam, and Kishkindha Kaandam.
While many highly anticipated commercial films utterly disappointed the audience, a couple of smaller, less ambitious works stole their hearts this time, proving once again that scale can never be the yardstick for quality. Nonetheless, 2025 also saw Malayalam cinema make it evident, with Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra, what a brilliant filmmaker and their exceptional team can achieve when their remarkable idea is given ample financial backing to reach fruition. As the year draws to a close, here are the Malayalam movies SCREEN considers the best among those released in 2025. (The films are listed in chronological order of their theatrical/OTT release and not arranged by rank)
A technically brilliant film, further elevated by its superior performances, Jothish Shankar’s directorial debut takes us on a journey along the coast of Kollam district in Kerala, depicting how the dowry system remains rampant even today. While highlighting the nexuses that thrive on it, the movie also portrays the struggles of last-mile workers involved in such illegal activities, showing how their lives often teeter on the edge as they face grave risks along the way. Basil Joseph’s performance in Ponman is truly one of the finest of the year.
Even while being free, do we actually have freedom in life that enables us to script our journey the way we want? Or are we, in a way, enchained by that very freedom? Thadavu centres on the story of a woman for whom life in the outside world feels like an unjust sentence she has been forced to bear. A brilliant example of how to create a central character without subjecting it to the creator’s biases or notions, the film also depicts the beauty and impact of even the most ordinary things. Thadavu earned its lead star Beena R Chandran the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress, while Fazil Razak won the trophy for Best Debut Director.
An outstanding tribute to Michael Jackson, Vinod AK’s directorial debut is one of those rare movies that fills one’s heart without trying too hard. Set in the late 1980s, Moonwalk revolves around a group of late-teenage friends in Thiruvananthapuram and their efforts to navigate life’s challenges, particularly poverty, to establish themselves as great dancers. Without subjecting his story to unwanted commercialisation, which could have led to senseless subplots, Vinod narrates the story he wants to tell in an endearing, impactful, and heartening way, while avoiding superficiality.
An extremely unconventional movie that explores basic human politics and life’s necessities, Jithin Issac Thomas’ Pattth is a gem that deserves more attention. A genre-bending work, Pattth is unlike the director’s previous films, Attention Please (2021) and Rekha (2023). Styled as a documentary, it traces the origins of a song, and the maker has also infused it with elements of mockumentary at times. Jithin has brilliantly and liberally experimented with both the narrative and visual language here, making Pattth truly one of a kind.
Director Shahi Kabir’s police procedural is a fine example of how to create a slow-burning thriller. Ronth primarily unfolds through interactions between two cops — who have an evident power imbalance between them — and maps the events that happen in their lives when they are assigned night patrol duty together. Almost like a peace offering from Shahi to the audience for bombarding them with the atrocious Officer on Duty, which he penned, Ronth’s biggest strength is Dileesh Pothan’s extraordinary performance, his finest to date. Although some of Shahi’s usual problematic tropes are evident here as well, Ronth is a more empathetic work when compared to his previous movies.
Undoubtedly, one of the finest superhero films India has ever produced, director Dominic Arun’s Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra is one of those movies that makes audiences fall in love with the big screen all over again. At a time when big-ticket “visual spectacles” are bombing, Lokah proves how high a film can soar when built on a solid script. Anchored in the rich tapestry of Kerala folklore, the movie also reimagines Kalliyankattu Neeli as the saviour of the outcast and marginalised, thereby also delivering a blow to mainstream films that continue to glorify elitism.
Kalyani Priyadarshan in Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra. (Credit: Facebook/@DQsWayfarerfilms)
Director Senna Hegde’s Avihitham offers a satirical take on the hollowness of the ‘Bro Code’ and how seemingly innocent rural settings intrude into others’ lives — disguised as community living and care — and latch onto them like parasites. In the black comedy, Senna goes a step further with the theme that director Amal Neerad explored in Varathan (2018), and illustrates how such threats often originate within homes. Avihitham’s biggest strengths are its smart writing and hilarious performances.
Fasil Muhammed’s debut film can be described as a distant cousin of Jeo Baby’s The Great Indian Kitchen (2021), with both brilliantly showing how easily patriarchal systems crumble when women stand up for themselves. A bloodless revolution in the form of a feature film, Feminichi Fathima splendidly depicts how the institutions of religion and family thrive on the subservience of women, who have been conditioned to believe that is the only possible form of existence. In a way, Fasil’s movie can be dubbed as the simplest and most layman-friendly definition of feminism. What’s most intriguing is how it never smuggles Islamophobia at any point. Shamla Hamza’s performance, which won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress, is the biggest draw of the movie.
Feminichi Fathima is director Fasil Muhammed’s debut film. (Credit: Facebook/@DQsWayfarerfilms)
An extraordinary horror movie that once again demonstrates how visionary a filmmaker Rahul Sadasivan is, Dies Irae’s most significant strength lies in the director’s ability to generate fear by blending various cinematic elements rather than relying on overt jump scares. Featuring Pranav Mohanlal’s career-best performance, with him shining the most in the physically demanding scenes, Dies Irae is also notable for its exquisite production design by Jothish Shankar and extraordinary music by Christo Xavier, which elevate the movie to greater heights.
Director-writer duo Dinjith Ayyathan and Bahul Ramesh’s Eko features Sandeep Pradeep in a key role. (Credit: Facebook/@dinjith)
Dinjith Ayyathan and Bahul Ramesh ate and left no crumbs! A spectacularly written and magnificently concevied movie that analyses, politicises, and problematises the idea of “protection” in a deep yet highly engaging manner, Eko proves that Sandeep Pradeep may well be the most talented Malayalam actor of his generation.