While the entire Indian film industry continues to look towards the Telugu film industry for inspiration on delivering pan-Indian blockbusters, the Telugu industry itself is currently facing a major crisis. A series of flops, dwindling footfalls, and a sharp decline in theatrical releases have raised serious concerns.
In recent months, the number of Telugu films hitting theaters has seen a significant drop. During March and April, only two low-budget films — featuring relatively lesser-known actors — managed to earn profits. In contrast, big-budget films with popular stars failed to register even decent opening-day collections.
Lack of openings
A particularly alarming trend is the poor performance of films starring known actors. Despite aggressive promotional campaigns, movies like Nithiin’s “Robinhood” and Siddhu Jonnalagadda’s “Jack” failed to draw audiences over their opening weekends. Both films grossed only around 5% to 10% of their total budget, making them massive box office failures.
Similarly, “Odela 2” starring Tamannaah and “Arjun S/O Vyjayanthi” featuring Kalyan Ram also flopped this month.
This consistent lack of audience interest is beginning to worry producers across the board.
Looking at the year so far, only “Sankranthiki Vasthunnam” managed to gross significant revenues. Other much-anticipated films such as “Daaku Maharaaj,” “Thandel,” and “Game Changer” failed to meet expectations, with some even incurring losses. Films like Vishwaksen’s “Laila” and Kiran Abbavaram’s “Dilruba” couldn’t even pull in respectable opening-day crowds.
Even the few films that did turn a profit, such as “Court” and “Mad Square,” were modest hits at best, far from the blockbuster status.
Industry in trouble
With theatrical revenues declining and OTT platforms offering lucrative deals only to select big-banner projects, the Telugu film industry finds itself in a precarious position. Producers are struggling to stay afloat, and unless there is a drastic shift in audience engagement and content strategy, the situation could worsen.
