Not all big budget films are successful at the box office, and not all successful films are necessarily made with large production costs. Hence, it proves that the game changer is always the story which does not require any extra effort to reach the audience. In the South film industry, many films have set standards with their releases, especially the low-budget ones. From Kantara to Loca Chapter One: Chandra, here is a list of 7 low-budget South films that turned out to be blockbusters at the box office.
1. Kantara
- Release Year: 2022
- Director: Rishabh Shetty
- Mould: Rishabh Shetty, Saptami Gowda, Kishore, Achyut Kumar, Pramod Shetty, Prakash Thuminad, Mansi Sudhir
Set in coastal Karnataka, Kantara explores sacred traditions, human greed and nature. The story is based on Shiva, who attempts to protect his village’s land from a corrupt forest officer and landlord. With Rishabh Shetty in the lead role, Kantara did huge business of Rs. Due to its entertaining story and tremendous climax, it earned Rs 397 crore at the worldwide box office. Interestingly, this film was made with a budget of just Rs 20 crore. 16 crores.
2. Karthikeya 2
- Release Year: 2022
- Director: Chandu Mondeti
- Mould: Nikhil Siddharth, Anupama Parameswaran, Aditya Menon, Satya, Praveen, Aditya Menon
It is a mystery-adventure action film released as the sequel to Karthikeya released in 2014. It tells the story of a doctor who sets out on a journey to uncover the mystery of an ancient idol of Lord Krishna. From mythology to science versus faith, Karthikeya 2 is presented as a fast-paced treasure hunt. This film created a stir across the country as soon as it was released. It proved to be a huge success, earning around Rs.500 worldwide. Gross collection was Rs. 110 crores.
3. Lokah Chapter 1: Moon
- Release Year: 2025
- Director: Dominic Arun
- Mould: Kalyani Priyadarshan, Naslen, Sandy, Chandu Salim Kumar, Arun Kurian, Nishant Sagar
This Malayalam language superhero film has been produced by Dulquer Salmaan under his banner Wayfarer Films. Loka Chapter 1: Chandra revolves around a mysterious woman who comes to Karnataka to fight evil. While she tries to keep her identity a secret, Chandra meets three young men and a ruthless officer.
Made at a production cost of Rs. 30 crore, Loca Chapter One: Chandra grossed over Rs 300 crore at the worldwide box office, becoming the first Malayalam film to achieve this feat.
4. Hanuman
- Release Year: 2024
- Director: Prashant Verma
- Mould: Teja Sajja, Amrita Iyer, Varalakshmi Sarathkumar, Samuthirkani, Vinay Rai, Vennela Kishore and Raj Deepak Shetty
Considered the first installment of the Prashant Varma Cinematic Universe, Hanuman is one of the highest-grossing superhero films of all time. The Telugu-language superhero film tells the story of Hanumantu, who gains the powers of Hanuman after he finds a mysterious gem. Due to its VFX, story and attractive climax, the film proved to be a huge success at the box office despite its low budget.
Made on a low budget, the Teja Sajja starrer superhero action drama has collected around Rs. Earning 296 crores at worldwide box office.
5. Premlu
- Release Year: 2024
- Director: Girish AD
- Mould: Naslen, Mamita Baiju, Sangeet Pratap, Akhila Bhargavan, Shyam Mohan, Meenakshi Ravindran, Matthew Thomas and Althaf Saleem.
Coming from the Malayalam industry, this film is a romantic comedy that presents a refreshing and humorous story. Premalu explores the lives of young adults who experience the joy of getting their first job, finding independence after living away from home and, of course, the sweetness of falling in love.
Backed by Fahadh Faasil’s production banner, Premlu made around Rs. It earned Rs 136 crore at the worldwide box office in its entire theatrical run.
6. Manjummel Boys
- Release Year: 2024
- Director: Chidambaram
- Mould: Soubin Shahir, Srinath Bhasi, Deepak Parambol, Balu Varghese, Ganpati S. Poduval, Lal Jr., Abhiram Radhakrishnan, Arun Kurian, Khalid Rehman and Shebin Benson.
The film is based on a group of Manjummel’s friends near Kochi who decide to go on a holiday to Kodaikanal. Everything is going well until one of them gets trapped in the Guna caves, and then the film turns into a survival thriller.
The low budget Manjummel Boys performed admirably at the box office and grossed around Rs. 242 crores worldwide. It was the highest-grossing Malayalam film until it was overtaken by Mohanlal’s L2 Empuraan in 2025.
7. Su Se To
- Release Year: 2025
- Director: JP Thuminad
- Mould: Shanil Gautam, JP Thuminad, Sandhya Arakere, Prakash Thuminad, Deepak Rai Panaje, Mime Ramdas and Raj B Shetty
The social drama/comedy film tells a simple story set in the coastal village of Marlur. Ashok, a fun-loving young man, is in love with a girl, but the villagers misunderstand it. Soon, rumors spread that they are possessed by a ghost named Sulochana. This Kannada film garnered huge praise and nationwide attention for every aspect of it.
Despite its low production budget, Su From So became the second highest-grossing Kannada film of 2025. It earned approximately Rs. Earning Rs 120 crore at the worldwide box office.
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Disclaimer: Box office figures are compiled from various sources and our research. Figures may be approximate, and Pinkvilla makes no claims about the authenticity of the data. However, they are adequate indicators of the box-office performance of the respective films.
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