L2 Empuraan vs Sikandar Day 1 Worldwide Box Office: Mohanlal starrer takes the Lead over Salman Khan's actioner

Mohanlal’s L2 Empuraan leads over Salman Khan’s Sikandar, collecting ₹65 Cr worldwide on Day 1, while Sikandar follows with ₹45 Cr. The box office battle just got bigger!

Written by Shanaz Syed , Journalist

Updated on Mar 31, 2025 | 12:08 PM IST | 24.2K

Credit: Aashirvad Cinemas

For years, box office comparisons have mostly revolved around Telugu vs. Hindi films or later on it shifted to Kannada vs. Hindi films after the arrival of KGF. However, for the first time, a Malayalam film is taking on a Bollywood biggie in a high-stakes box office battle. Superstar Mohanlal’s L2 Empuraan, the much-hyped sequel to Lucifer, has gone head-to-head with B-town's Superstar Salman Khan’s latest flick Sikandar, setting up an exciting clash between two tinsel towns.

On its release day, L2 Empuraan took a massive lead, collecting ₹65 crore worldwide from the global box office and smashing all previous Malayalam opening day records. This makes it the biggest-ever Day 1 grosser in Malayalam cinema history. Meanwhile, Sikandar had an average start, pulling in ₹45 crore worldwide on its Opening Day. Both movies had premiere shows. However, Mohanlal has officially edged past Salman by ₹20 crore on the opening day, thus making heads turn towards L2 Empuraan even in the Hindi hinterlands.

Both films have been heavily promoted, with their respective teams going all out to generate buzz. The creative promotional strategies adopted by both L2 Empuraan and Sikandhar teams have impressed audience big time. Along with various pre-release events, strong social media campaigns and some specially recorded interviews, these teams have managed to bring in massive footfalls to cinemas. Due to Eid holiday, both films are expected to cash the extended weekend, seeing a strong upward curve in collections in the coming days.

READ: L2 Empuraan Day 5 Box Office

Considering the fact that Salman Khan has faced a rough patch at the box office with a string of underwhelming performances in recent years, Sikandar is crucial film for him. On the other hand, L2 Empuraan is proving to be a game-changer for Mohanlal and Malayalam industry, setting new benchmarks and creating new records in territories that were previously untamed by them.

Going forward, trade analysts are predicting that L2 Empuraan would easily crash into the ₹300 crores club, while Sikandar is expected to touch atleast ₹150 crore gross worldwide mark. But the real test lies in sustaining momentum over the next few weeks after the initial hype and hoopla around the movies fade off. Will L2 Empuraan maintain its lead, or will Sikandar catch up? The box office battle is just getting started!