The Sankranthi 2022 season demonstrated once again how the Tollywood audience hurries to theatres on this occasion. This comes as a considerable relief to Tollywood filmmakers. Because of their pan-Indian endeavours, biggies like RRR and Radhe Shyam can only be released once the entire market is open. Several Tollywood stalwarts are hoping for a massive summer release.
Tollywood, in what appears to be a new trend, has been aggressively seeking beyond its usual regions of influence. Although south Indian films have had a positive influence on Hindi-speaking viewers through the years, they have never been able to translate into box-office success. In some ways, S.S. Rajamouli’s Baahubali franchise laid the groundwork for Telugu films to a pan-Indian market.
Rajamouli headed in all guns blazing to make his upcoming big-screen film, RRR. Apart from Jr NTR and Ram Charan in the key roles, Rajamouli also signed Ajay Devgan and Alla Bhatt for the film, which has sparked interest across the country.
Now, beginning in late February, audiences will see a star-studded roster in theatres, with a slew of high-budget blockbusters due to hit the big screen.
Bheemla Nayak is set to be released on either February 25th or April 1st. Along with that, Prabhas’ Radhe Shyam will be released on March 11th. Following this, there will be the much-anticipated RRR on March 25th, as well as KGF:2, Acharya, and F3 to round off April. On May 12, Superstar Mahesh Babu’s Sarkaru Vaari Paata will join the blockbuster season.
Over Rs. 1000 crores of business is riding on the shoulders of the Tollywood titans listed above. Following in the footsteps of Pushpa: The Rise, each of these films is likely to do a gross run of more than Rs. 200 crores. This is the aggregate business of these flicks, and it is exclusively for the Telugu version. It remains to be seen how the next summer rolls out and whether it will be able to lift the industry out of the downturn caused by Covid and lockdowns.
Tollywood producers are also looking at North India to capitalise on the newfound passion among fans for Telugu films and actors. They are no longer satisfied with the revenue produced by selling the dubbing rights to their films. The emphasis is now on direct releases in a wide range of languages.
