Bethlehem Kudumba Unit has carried its blockbuster theatrical momentum straight into streaming. The Nivin Pauly and Mamitha Baiju-starrer emerged as the most-watched non-Hindi film in India during its opening weekend on streaming, according to Ormax StreamView, after arriving on JioHotstar on October 2. The measurement covers the three-day period from October 2 to October 4.
Sacnilk, citing Ormax StreamView data, reports that the Malayalam romantic comedy reached 5.4 million viewers during that opening weekend. The number is more specific than a simple stream count: Ormax defines these viewers as unique audiences in India who watched at least 30 minutes of the film, with all available language versions combined.
That distinction is important. A user briefly starting the movie would not automatically count toward the figure, making the milestone a measure of meaningful audience reach rather than simply the number of times someone pressed play.
From Kerala box-office phenomenon to nationwide streaming hit
Directed by Girish A.D., Bethlehem Kudumba Unit first reached cinemas on August 21, 2026, before making its JioHotstar debut on October 2 in Malayalam, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada. That puts exactly six weeks between its theatrical and streaming releases.
The timing makes its OTT performance particularly notable because the film had already enjoyed an unusually successful theatrical run. Recent reporting puts its worldwide gross at approximately ₹326 crore, making it the highest-grossing Malayalam film to date. Producer Fahadh Faasil has also spoken about the size of the film’s success while pointing out that a headline gross figure should not be confused with the amount eventually received by producers after exhibitors, distributors, taxes and other shares are accounted for.
Streaming success therefore gives Bethlehem Kudumba Unit a second test of its audience pull. Its theatrical numbers showed how many people were willing to buy tickets; the opening-weekend OTT data suggests there was still a large audience waiting to discover—or revisit—the movie at home.
Its audience score adds another piece to the story
The streaming record is not the only Ormax benchmark attached to the film. Ormax says Bethlehem Kudumba Unit has an Ormax Power Rating of 92, making it the most-liked theatrical film in India in 2026 across languages under the company’s audience-tracking system.
Taken together, those figures give the movie an unusual combination: major theatrical revenue, strong audience appreciation and now a record-setting streaming launch.
The multi-language OTT release may also have helped extend the film beyond the Malayalam-speaking audience that powered its original theatrical launch. JioHotstar made the movie available in five Indian languages from day one of its digital release, giving viewers across the country a lower-friction way to access a film whose box-office reputation was already well established.
For Malayalam cinema, that may be the more interesting part of the achievement. Bethlehem Kudumba Unit did not simply move from a successful cinema run to a respectable OTT afterlife. Six weeks after opening in theatres, it was still able to generate enough fresh interest to lead the non-Hindi film field in India during its first streaming weekend.
