The first month in 2021 had played a key role in reviving the theatrical business. The Telugu film industry, like all the other industries globally, had incurred huge losses. The workers remained without earnings for months. The Sankranthi films played a catalyst in our industry’s recovery.
About 20 films – small, big-budgeted, and dubbed movies – had seen theatrical release in January.
2021 began with Nani’s ‘V’ and Raj Tarun’s ‘Orey Bujjigaa’ testing their luck in the theaters. Both these movies had streamed on OTT platforms last year. But audiences didn’t show interest in watching them on the silver screen.
Krack – True blockbuster
It was Ravi Teja starrer ‘Krack’, which opened on screens on 9th Jan, that brought audiences back to the theaters. Vijay’s ‘Master’ (Telugu dubbed version), and Ram Pothineni’s ‘Red) followed. Ravi Teja starrer ‘Krack’ emerged as a blockbuster. The film had collected about Rs 30 crore.
Ram’s ‘Red’ can be termed a very average grosser. The film couldn’t sustain its run at the ticket window after the first three days of the run. ‘Master’ had brought decent profits to the distributors.
Bellamkonda Sai Srinivas’s ‘Alludu Adhurs’ was a disaster.
Small films ‘Valasa’ and ‘Cycle’ didn’t get attention at all. Allari Naresh’s ‘Bangaru Bullodu’ was another dud. The film was a flop from the morning show itself.
Good openings for 30 Rojullo
On the last week of January, the theaters witnessed the flow of releases like Pradeep Machiraju’s ‘30 Rojullo Preminchadam Ela’, ‘Mr&Miss’, ‘Jai Sena’, ‘Cheppina Evaru Nammaru’, and ‘Amma Deevena’. Of them, only Pradeep Machiraju’s film took good openings. Although critics have given thumbs down, the movie collected decent money in its first weekend, making an average grosser.
OTT releases
Two web movies also had premiered on OTT platforms. Priyadarshi starrer ‘Mail’ and Naveen Chandra starrer ‘Super Over’ received good reviews. Dubbed movie ‘Bhoomi’ which premiered on the Disney was a turkey.
Final Take
The Telugu film industry rejoiced with the fact that audiences are keen to watch the films in theaters. This is why we have seen a flurry of announcements about the release dates over the last week. January 2021 releases have put the industry on the path of recovery.
