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Big Stars-Heavy Budgets-Huge Losses

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The Telugu film industry has seen a good rise regarding the span of their films in recent years, but it failed to maintain the consistency with successful films. Even the films that involved big stars and heavy budgets resulted in huge losses, like Game Changer, Hari Hara Veera Mallu, and War 2. 

A few people from the industry, like some distributors and producers, continuously ask the current generation’s six big stars to do continuous films and release at least one film in a year to revive the theaters.

Because big stars have the potential to bring huge numbers of audiences to theaters, and in most es big stars” films will provide stable profits for producers with pre-release business.

But this year, the scenario was different; three big-star films have been released in 2025. One is Ram Charan’s Game Changer, the second one is Pawan Kalyan’s Hari Hara Veera Mallu, and the third one is NTR’s War 2.

All these films’ producers spent huge budgets by taking big risks. But all three films have given significant losses for the producers and buyers as well.

The producers have lost huge crores of money, and the buyers lost more than 50% of the invested amounts. This proves that producers and distributors/buyers also need to look at calculations of a movie thoroughly, as even if it features big stars, it does not guarantee big numbers.

Nagarjuna’s 100th Film Update Is Here

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Akkineni Nagarjuna appeared as a villain in Rajinikanth’s Coolie, which resulted in a mixed response, with Telugu audiences and his fans rejecting it but Tamil audiences liking it. Meanwhile, Nagarjuna’s 100th Film update is here.

Tentatively titled as King100, the film will be directed by Karthik, the Tamil director who made Nitham Oru Vaanam starring Ashok Selvan and Ritu Varma.

Nagarjuna’s 100th Film to be directed by a Tamil Director

Nag spoke about his hundredth film in a recent talk show, and he stated that it is a very grand film, and the shoot will start soon after Coolie gets released.

The Manmadhudu actor also said that the story of the film has nice action combined with family and drama elements. Nag also confirmed that it will be his next theatrical release.

Though the Akkineni fans are a bit disappointed with the Simon character in Coolie, they will be delighted to know that Nagarjuna’s 100th film is all set to start soon.

OTT Woes Hit Suriya and Karthi

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The Suriya and Karthi duo have a good fan base across all languages because of their content-driven movies. Neither of the actors scored a big hit in recent years. OTT woes hit Suriya and Karthi’s next movies.

Suriya’s Karuppu was planned for Diwali release this year, but due to the pending OTT deal, the release date has not been announced. The team is in negotiations with multiple streaming platforms, but the deals are not happening at their expected levels.

Karthi’s Sardaar 2 also faces the same issue. This movie was also planned for Diwali release, and even though it is a sequel and the shoot is completed, still the OTT deal is pending. 

OTT Issues Trouble Surya And Karthi Films

The OTT platforms are said to have quoted much lower prices, and those are not at all at the expected levels of the makers. Karthi’s other film, Vaa Vaathiyar, is also facing the release hurdles due to financial reasons only.

Sadly, Suriya and Karthi’s next movies have been hurt by OTT woes, and the release dates cannot be announced till the issues get resolved.

Stream Hari Hara Veera Mallu Today

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Pawan Kalyan’s Hari Hara Veera Mallu was released in theaters at the end of July and heavily backfired at the box office. The film could not even collect minimal numbers except for premieres/morning shows. Hari Hara Veera Mallu will be available for streaming tonight.

The periodical action drama emerges as a huge loss venture for all the involved parties. As the movie received negative WOM and reviews, the film did not bring many audiences to the theaters.

Hari Hara Veera Mallu to be available on Prime Video

The viewers can stream Pawan Kalyan’s Hari Hara Veera Mallu from tonight on Prime Video in Telugu, Tamil, and Malayalam languages.

HHVM has Pawan Kalyan as a rebellious outlaw who dares to challenge the might of the Mughals. Oscar award winner MM Keeravani has composed the film’s music. The film features Nidhhi Agerwal as the female lead, and it is directed by Jyothi Krishna and Krish Jagarlamudi.

Coolie’s A Certificate Hype Backfires

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Rajinikanth and Lokesh Kanagaraj’s Coolie was censored with ‘A,’ and it excited the fans that it will have the brand of the director with brutal action/bloodshed. However, Coolie’s “A” certificate hype backfires after the release. 

Before release, everyone thought that the adult certificate for the film was given because of the bloody violence, and all eagerly awaited to watch a brutal violent film from Lokesh Kanagaraj. 

But after seeing the film, everyone felt, “What is there to give an A rating for?” as they felt it was a regular mass revenge drama film with no bloody or brutal action. The reason came out that the A certificate was given due to the bad portrayal of Port people and a few scenes that involve burning the living people.

“A” Certificate Makes Family Audiences Unavailable For Coolie

People who have watched the film suggested that the team could have gone for U/A by fighting with the censor and agreeing to minor cuts, which could have allowed a large number of families to watch the film with kids.

Coolie Team Moves To Madras High Court To Obtain U/A Certificate

The team initially thought differently and tried to use the A rating for promotions. However, the “A” certificate hype backfires for Rajinikanth’s Coolie, and the latest news is that the makers have approached the Madras High Court for U/A.

The online users and some fans say that they could have done this, or the Sun Pictures or Lokesh team could have done this before the release itself.

War 2 Hits Devara 2

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NTR and his fans put high hopes on his Bollywood debut, War 2. Even the industry people thought it would be the start of more such biggies that combine North and South actors. However, War 2 turns out as a big disaster, and its result also affects Devara 2. 

Before a few months. There was a belief among industry circles that if a movie is a sequel or a part of a franchise, then irrespective of content, that movie will work big at the box office.

But slowly industry started to understand that the people are not excited for all sequels or franchise films, with War 2 being the latest example.

Devara 2’s Progress in doubt after War 2’s result

NTR has a sequel to Devara in the pipeline, which is supposed to start at the end of this year or early 2026. However, the result of War 2 will definitely hurt Devara 2, and NTR will think thoroughly before starting it, despite Devara being a box office success.

If we observe, Devara did not receive unanimous applause for its content, and especially the cliffhanger for the sequel misfired badly. So, it is certain that Devara’s sequel is not carrying the anticipation that Baahubali, KGF, and Pushpa carried among audiences.

With all these equations, Tarak needs to make the right decision, and he should start Devara 2 only if it has solid and better content than the first part. Also, the team needs to create the required anticipation from the shoot itself and should not think that the sequel will have a default craze, and it will open massively at the box office.

Devara 2 is definitely a risky venture, as Telugu audiences might get excited due to the NTR factor or stardom. But for other languages, the team needs to do something to create excitement from the beginning.

We need to see what decision NTR would take, but before and after War 2 there would be a change of mind for NTR and team on the sequel of Devara.

Coolie Recensored In Singapore

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Directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj, Rajinikanth’s Coolie was released in theaters on August 14th. After a good first weekend, the film saw drops in its collections. Meanwhile, Coolie has been recensored in Singapore. 

The latest news is that the action drama, Coolie, has been re-censored from an NC16 (No Children Below 16) to PG13 (All Ages Allowed) rating in Singapore.

4 minutes of runtime have been cut in this revised version, which makes the runtime 2 hours 44 minutes (164 mins), and it also has consumer advice about the violence in the film.

The movie team could have done the same in India as well. Because of the A certificate, the film’s collections were affected, as some revenue was lost, with kids not being allowed, and everyone knows Rajini enjoys a huge fan base among kids.

Let us see how this re-censor works for Rajinikanth’s Coolie in Singapore.  

Suriya Turns Cop Again

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Suriya’s Karuppu, directed by RJ Balaji, completed the shooting and now is in post-production works. The actor also started his 46th film with Venky Atluri. Now, Suriya turns cop again for his 47th film, for which he is joining hands with Aavesham director Jithu Madhavan.

A few months ago, there was a strong buzz that the Malayalam director Jithu Madhavan, who made the blockbuster Aavesham with Fahadh Faasil, is going to work with Suriya.

Lately, music director Sushin Shyam has officially confirmed that he will be composing for Suriya 47. The talented composer, known for his exceptional work in Manjummel Boys and Aavesham, is now stepping into Kollywood with this much-awaited project. 

Suriya to play a cop role in Aavesham Jithu Madhavan’s Film

Jithu Madhavan’s film will feature Suriya in a powerful cop role, and the fans will be delighted with this news, as they love their favorite hero in police uniform and the director being an in-form filmmaker.

Suriya-47 makers are planning to go on floors at the end of this year, and it will be a quickie project that targets a second-half 2026 release.

Tollywood Needs a Reality Check

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Tollywood, the Telugu cinema, has risen to another level in the last decade if we consider the box office prospects. However, if we talk about content, theater management, and footfalls, things are not at all right. Tollywood needs a reality check. 

In recent years, 95% of the films are limited to weekends only, and they are failing to collect theatrical rents after the opening weekend, including pan-India films and big-star films. This is a very serious issue for the industry. 

Tollywood in Crisis: Movies failing to collect theater rents after first the weekend

The producers or heroes say things will be better with one or two hits, but irrespective of box office results, the same scenario has been continuing for years. 

The Telugu film industry needs to seriously think about ticket pricing, the OTT window, and, most importantly, they should have a proper estimation of a movie’s craze among audiences and its business value. 

The biggest problem is that the business is being done as if every film will turn into a huge blockbuster. In reality, some prices cannot even be recovered despite a movie becoming a blockbuster. 

Producers and Distributors need to review/check a film’s craze before they finalize the amount

The trade needs to analyze realistically, that if a film is average, how much can it earn; if it fails, how much can it recover; and if it becomes a blockbuster, what is the maximum it can achieve, and plan the base the business accordingly.

Telugu Film industry’s bigwigs need to do a reality check on the entire functioning of movies to save Tollywood.

Coolie Drops-War 2 Collapses

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The theater owners of all of India, and especially the Telugu states, were excited as two biggies, Rajinikanth’s Coolie and Hrithik Roshan-NTR’s War 2, clashed at the box office. After the first weekend, Coolie drops, while War 2 collapses at the theaters.

Rajinikanth and Lokesh Kanagaraj’s action drama had a good first weekend, but it saw a big drop in all areas and managed to post below-par numbers yesterday. Even in Telugu states, they just managed to collect around 1 Cr share.

The film still needs to do more than 12 Cr share to be a hit in Telugu states, and this drop is a serious concern for the film. Overall, worldwide the film has collected close to 410 Cr gross for 5 days, and the break-even stands at the 600 Cr mark, which looks impossible at this trend.

On the other side, NTR and Hrithik Roshan’s War 2 crashes on the 1st Monday in all territories after a poor opening weekend. In Telugu states, many theaters posted day deficits, and the film was able to manage negligible shares in few areas. 

The movie is in such a pathetic condition that now even crossing 40 Cr share itself is a tough task. The break-even point stands at 95 Cr in Telugu states. Overall worldwide the film has collected around 275 Cr gross for 5 days.

The spy action drama is likely to close under 350 Cr WW gross, which is just 50% of the valued breakeven business.

Sadly, Coolie and War 2 could not do much after the weekend, much to the dismay of theater owners/distributors and producers.