'Janaki V vs State of Kerala' box office collections day 1: Suresh Gopi's film gets decent start; mints Rs 1 crore

After weeks of buzz and controversy surrounding its title, ' Janaki V vs State of Kerala ' finally opened in theatres on Thursday, July 17, 2025. And it seems the courtroom drama , starring Suresh Gopi in a powerful lead role, has managed to make a decent impression, both critically and commercially.

According to early estimates from Sacnilk, the film earned Rs 1 crore on Day 1 (India net, all languages). This marks a solid start for a regional legal thriller.


Steady occupancy, especially in evening and night shows


The film witnessed an overall 15.94% occupancy in Malayalam screens on its first day, with numbers improving gradually through the day. Morning shows began slow at just 8.05%, but interest picked up by evening (17.73%) and reached a peak at night with 23.27% occupancy.

Cities like Kochi led the way with 36% occupancy in night shows alone, followed by Bengaluru (20.75% overall) and Chennai (15.25%).


Legal drama with star power


Suresh Gopi steps into the shoes of Advocate David Abel Donovan, and early reviews suggest that his performance is a key highlight of the film. Anupama Parameswaran plays Janaki Vidhyadharan, whose story anchors the plot, while Madhav Suresh, Shruthi Ramachandran, and Divya Pillai round out the supporting cast with credible performances.



Controversy doesn’t deter footfall


Despite facing criticism from political and social circles over its title, the film’s opening suggests that the audience is willing to separate the cinema from the surrounding noise. The movie is also getting decent reviews from the audiences. ETimes gave the movie a rating of 2.5 stars and an excerpt from our review reads, "Anupama Parameswaran delivers a subtle, layered performance as Janaki, effectively conveying her mental anguish and listlessness. Shruthi Ramachandran, as Niveditha, gives a calm, understated portrayal of Janaki’s lawyer. Askar Ali and Divya Pillai perform well in their supporting roles, though Madhav’s dialogue delivery feels slightly off in certain scenes. The film does suffer from its length and a muddled screenplay. A tighter, crisper edit would have served it better. While Suresh Gopi’s monologues are familiar to Malayali audiences, they could have been trimmed without taking anything away from the film. Towards the climax, the lengthy dialogues become long-winded and, frankly, grating so close to the resolution. Some awkward English dialogues also stand out."