Kunchacko Boban disputes Kerala box office figures' accuracy

Kunchacko Boban has disputed a recent report from the Kerala Film Producers’ Association (KFPA). The report said that only one out of 17 Malayalam films released in February made a profit. This film is Boban’s own, Officer on Duty. Boban criticized the KFPA for their claims about his film's budget and earnings. The association stated that Officer on Duty was made with a budget of ₹ 13 crore and earned ₹ 11 crore at the box office. Boban argued that these figures are incorrect. He believes the production cost was higher and that the film actually earned around ₹ 30 crore in Kerala. He said the reported figure of ₹ 11 crore only reflects the producer's share from local theaters. Many filmmakers and actors have also challenged the KFPA's report. Boban expressed that if producers are indeed facing losses, he would be willing to act for free in their films. He said he should get the earnings from other sources, such as streaming platforms, which are often overlooked in these discussions. In response, KFPA vice-president G Suresh Kumar acknowledged that Officer on Duty was a hit but noted two other films might recover costs through digital sales. The association revealed that February's films had a total budget of around ₹ 75.23 crore but only earned ₹ 23.55 crore at theaters. This follows a poor financial showing in January, where they reported losses of ₹ 110 crore from 28 film releases.